BV  4501  .T47  1916 

Thomas,  W.  H.  Griffith  186li 

1924. 
Grace  and  power 


Grace  and  Power 


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Grace  and  Power.  Some  Aspects  of  the 
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Grace  and  Power 


Some  Aspects  of  the  Spiritual  Lifj&,.^j^o^>{  OF  Pfi/f/^^ 


JAN  -54191 


By    . 

Rev.  W.  H.  GRIFFITH  THOMAS,  D.D. 

Wycliffe  College,  Toronto 


OfilCAL  SUV| 


New  York  Chicago  Toronto 

Fleming   H.   Revell    Company 


London 


Edinburgh 


Copyright,  19 16,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  17  North  Wabash  Ave. 
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To 

Rev.  Prebendary  Webb-Peploe^  M.A., 

and 

Rev.  Evan  H.  Hopkins,  A.  K.  C, 

Who,  at  Kcszvick  and  elsezuhcre, 
have  taught  so  7nany  of  us 
how  to  '^possess  our  possessions" 


O  Lord,  we  beseech  Thee  mercifully  to 
receive  the  prayers  of  Thy  people  which 
call  upon  Thee ;  and  grant  that  they  may 
both  perceive  and  know  what  things  they 
ought  to  do,  and  also  may  have  grace  and 
power  faithfully  to  fulfill  the  same  ;  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.     Amen, 

— Collect  for  the  First  Sunday  after  the  Epiphany. 


Preface 

IT  is  a  fact,  perhaps  a  significant  fact,  that 
throughout  the  Epistles  of  the  New  Testament, 
where,  naturally,  we  find  full  instructions  for 
Christians,  there  is  only  one  exhortation  to  do  the 
work  of  evangelization  (2  Tim.  iv.  5),  while  appeals  to 
carry  out  the  duty  of  foreign  missions  are  equally 
conspicuous  by  their  absence.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Christian  life,  its  provisions  and  possibilities,  its 
secrets  and  methods,  its  duties  and  responsibilities, 
will  be  found   emphasized   almost  everywhere. 

Is  there  any  connection  between  the  silence  and  the 
emphasis  ?  May  it  not  be  a  reminder  that  when  the 
Christian  life  is  what  it  should  be,  the  duty  of  evan- 
gelization at  home  and  abroad  will  be  the  natural 
and  necessary  outcome,  as  effect  to  cause,  as  stream 
to  source  ?  Be  this  as  it  may,  there  can  be  no  ques- 
tion about  the  way  in  which  the  New  Testament 
calls  attention  to  the  Christian  life  and  demands  the 
highest  possible  standard  while  providing  the  fullest 
possible  power. 

The  believer's  life  is  described  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment under  two  aspects :  "  acceptable  to  God  and 
approved   of    man"   (Rom.   xiv.    18).     We  arc   to 

7 


8  PEEFACB 

"walk  and  please  God"  (i  Thess.  iv.  l) ;  to  "walk 
worthy  of  the  Lord  unto  all  pleasing"  (Col.  i.  lo); 
and  to  "  do  those  things  that  are  pleasing  in  His 
sight"  (I  John  iii.  22).  Nothing  can  be  more  in- 
spiring than  this  requirement,  leading  us  to  pray, 
"  Teach  me  to  do  the  thing  that  pleases  Thee " 
(Psalm  cxliii.  10;  Prayer  Book  Version). 

But  the  life  of  the  Christian  is  also  to  be  "  ap- 
proved of  man."  This  is  one  of  the  best  recom- 
mendations of  the  Gospel  the  believer  claims  to  pos- 
sess, for  nothing  so  readily  impresses  and  attracts 
those  around  as  reality  in  daily  living.  When  the 
Seven  were  appointed,  one  requirement  was  that  they 
should  be  "  men  of  honest  report,"  that  is,  "  well 
spoken  of,"  men  of  good  reputation.  This  feature 
is  more  prominent  in  the  New  Testament  than  many 
imagine  (Acts  x.  22;  xvi.  2;  xxii.  12;  Eph.  v.  15  ; 
Col.  iv.  5  ;  I  Thess.  iv.  12;  i  Tim.  iii.  7).  It  has 
been  said  that  the  "  Christian  is  the  world's  Bible  and 
sometimes  they  will  read  no  other."  All  the  more 
necessary,  therefore,  that  we  should  be  in  "  favour  with 
God  and  man  "  (Luke  ii.  52)  and  thereby  show  that 

**  Our  lips  and  lives  express 
The  Holy  Gospel  we  profess." 

This  book  is  intended,  in  its  first  part,  to  call  at- 
tention to  some  of  the  possibilities  of  Christian  liv- 


PREFACE  9 

ing ;  in  the  second,  to  some  of  its  provisions,  and 
in  the  third,  to  a  few  of  its  guarantees  of  protection. 
It  embodies  the  substance  of  addresses  given  at 
various  places  in  England  and  the  United  States. 


Contents 

PART  I 

Possibility 

I.  Knowledge 15 

II.  Power 34 

III.  Privilege 48 

IV.  Satisfaction 66 

PART  II 

Provision 

V.  Grace 83 

VI.  Justification loi 

VII.  Sanctification    .        .        .        ;        ,116 

VIII.  Consecration 141 


PART  III 

Protection 

IX. 

Meditation 

• 

.     153 

X. 

Prayer         .        .        .        . 

• 

.     164 

XI. 

Faithfulness 

• 

.     170 

XII. 

Obedience  .        .        .        . 

• 

.     179 

11 


PART  I 
Possibility 


*'Thc  power  of  God  unto  salvation." — Rom.  i.  i6. 

"  His  divine  power  hath  given  us  all  things  that  per- 
tain to  life  and  godliness." — 2  Pet.  i.  jj. 

"  How   shall  he   not   with  him   freely  give  us  til 
things  ?  " — Rom.  viii.  J2. 

**  That  ye  may  know  the  things  that  are   freely  given 
to  us  of  God." — /  Cor.  it.  12. 


"T 


I 

KNOWLEDGE 

HIS  is  preeminently  a  day  of  inquiry,  of 
-  questioning  as  to  fundamental  principles. 
"^  Several  years  ago,  mainly  under  the  guid- 
ance of  the  German  scholar,  Harnack,  the  question 
was  very  rife,  "  What  is  Christianity  ?  "  Such  ques- 
tioning is  natural  and  inevitable,  and  ought  to  be 
heartily  welcomed.  The  Jews  were  expected  to  tell 
their  children  the  meaning  of  the  Passover  when- 
ever, the  inquiry  was  made,  '*  What  mean  ye  by  this 
service  ?  "  And  the  Apostle  Peter  bids  us  to  be 
ready  to  give  a  reason  to  every  one  who  asks  why 
we  are  what  we  are  (i  Pet.  iii.  15).  In  matters  Bib- 
lical, spiritual,  and  even  ecclesiastical  it  is  essential 
for  us  to  be  able  to  explain  and  vindicate  our  posi- 
tion. One  thing,  however,  we  must  never  forget, 
that  truth  is  many-sided.  It  is  like  a  crystal  with 
several  faces  rather  than  like  a  piece  of  glass  with 
one  flat  surface.  As  a  diamond  with  various  facets, 
so  truth  has  its  different  aspects,  and  if  only  we 
realize  this,  we  shall  not  go  far  wrong.  Trouble 
arises  if  only  one  aspect  is  emphasized,  for  we  are 

15 


16  POSSIBILITY 

tempted  to  think  that  this  is  the  only  truth  in  ex- 
istence. 

During  the  Christian  history  there  have  been,  per- 
haps, three  main  periods  in  which  emphasis  has  been 
largely  placed  upon  certain  aspects  of  truth.  During 
the  early  centuries  the  great  thought  was  Christ  as 
the  Divine  Redeemer.  In  the  sixteenth  century  the 
stress  fell  on  Christ  as  the  Perfect  Justifier.  During 
the  nineteenth  century  the  chief  point  seems  to  have 
been,  as  it  still  is,  on  Christ  the  Complete  Deliverer. 
So  that  we  have  in  the  early  centuries,  "  My  Sa- 
viour ;  "  at  the  Reformation,  "  My  Guilt ;  "  and  now, 
"  My  Weakness."  The  Christian  hfe  is  concerned 
with  the  last  of  these  three — My  Weakness ;  Christ 
the  Complete  Deliverer.  But,  of  course,  the  other 
two  are  presupposed.  It  is  because  Christ  is  the 
Divine  Saviour,  and  because  He  is  the  Perfect  Justi- 
fier, that  we  are  enabled  to  contemplate  Him  as  our 
complete  Deliverance  from  sin  ;  and  thus  to  consider 
our  weakness,  our  bondage,  our  defilement,  every- 
thing that  touches  the  life  of  the  believer  in  relation 
to  sin.  It  will  therefore  be  wise  and  well  to  look  a 
little  at  the  fundamental  implications  and  presuppo- 
sitions of  the  Christian  life,  in  order  that  we  may 
thence  proceed  from  stage  to  stage,  from  strength  to 
strength,  and  from  glory  to  glory. 

This  can  best  be  done  by  concentrating  attention 


KNOWLEDGE  17 

on  one  of  the  numerous  passages  that  reveal  the  be- 
Hever's  hfe  in  all  the  divine  plenitude  of  grace  and 
blessing  :  ••  In  that  day  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  in  My 
Father  and  ye  in  Me  and  1  in  you  "  (John  xiv.  20). 

I.  We  may  think  first  of  our  Strong  Protection. 
"  I  am  in  My  Father."  This  is  the  foundation,  the 
relation  of  Christ  to  His  Father.  "  What  think  ye 
of  Christ  ?  "  is  the  question  of  questions  to-day,  and 
the  union  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  with  His  Father 
is  the  presupposition  of  everything.  A  book  was 
published  some  time  ago  entitled  •'  Jesus  in  the  Nine- 
teenth Century  and  After."  But  we  have  to  think 
of  "  Jesus  in  the  First  Century  and  Before  ;  "  this  is 
where  we  must  start. 

Now,  our  strong  protection,  '•  I  am  in  My  Father," 
means  this  first  of  all :  the  Lord  Jesus  as  the  Revela- 
tion of  truth.  He  claimed  to  come  from  the  Father, 
and  He  said  He  was  the  truth.  He  promised  that 
the  truth  should  make  His  disciples  free.  His  con- 
stant word  was,  "  I  say  unto  you."  This  is  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  in  His  aspect  as  the  Prophet  of  God. 
Truth  in  the  New  Testament  means  two  things, 
veracity  and  reality,  and  Christ  is  and  reveals  both. 

But  it  also  means  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  Re- 
deemer from  sin.  He  came  not  only  to  show,  but  to 
save ;  not  only  to  teach,  but  to  redeem.  Sin  has  to 
be  faced.     We  have  to  know  what  it  is,  and  how  it 


18  POSSIBILITY 

is  to  be  removed.  "  God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling 
the  world  unto  Himself." 

This  means,  in  the  third  place,  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  in  His  Rule  over  life.  He  came  preaching  the 
Kingdom  of  God,  and  by  this  is  to  be  understood  the 
reign  of  God  over  human  hearts  and  lives.  His 
claim  was  absolute  over  men.  "  Come  unto  Me," 
"  Learn  of  Me,"  "  Follow  Me,"  "  Abide  in  Me  "— 
these  were  His  constant  assertions  and  claims. 

This  is  the  idea  found  in  old-fashioned  theology  : 
••  Jesus  my  Prophet,  Priest  and  King."  He  is 
Prophet  to  reveal,  Priest  to  redeem,  King  to  rule. 
Here,  then,  is  where  we  start — what  I  call  our  strong 
protection.  This  is  what  we  think  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  nothing  short  of  this  will  satisfy  either 
the  New  Testament  teaching  or  the  needs  of  any  in- 
dividual heart  and  life.  In  the  introduction  to  a 
book  by  Sir  Robert  Anderson,  the  Bishop  of  Dur- 
ham (Dr.  Moule)  used  these  words,  and  they  are 
worthy  of  constant  repetition  :  '•  A  Saviour  not  quite 
God  is  a  bridge  broken  at  the  farther  end." 

n.  Then  we  can  go  on  to  think  of  our  Safe  Posi- 
tion. "  Ye  in  Me."  After  thinking  of  Christ  as  in 
the  Father,  we  consider  ourselves  as  in  Christ.  "  Ye 
in  Me."  We  are  in  Christ,  first  of  all,  for  pardon. 
Let  us  not  be  indifferent  to  these  elementary  truths. 
They   are    the   presupposition   of    everything   else. 


KNOWLEDGE  19 

Pardon  is  the  first  blessing  associated  with  the  Chris- 
tian religion.  There  is  no  other  religion  in  the  world 
that  has  this  message  of  pardon.  Professor  Huxley 
once  said  :  "  There  is  no  forgiveness  in  nature,"  and 
all  the  great  writers  of  fiction  for  the  last  fifty  years 
have  had  for  their  theme  the  nemesis  of  broken  law. 
Kipling  says  somewhere : 

"  The  sins  ye  do  by  two  and  two, 
Ye  must  pay  for  one  by  one." 

And  yet  all  through  the  ages  we  have  been  ex- 
pressing our  belief  in  the  forgiveness  of  sins  because 
we  rest  upon  the  revelation  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
His  message  of  pardon  makes  forgiveness  possible  for 
every  one,  perfect  forgiveness,  eternal  forgiveness, 
assured  forgiveness. 

Then  we  are  in  Christ  for  righteousness.  Right- 
eousness is  much  more  than  pardon.  Pardon  is  Hke 
being  stripped  of  old  clothes.  Righteousness  is  like 
receiving  new  clothes  instead.  Pardon  is  negative. 
Righteousness  is  positive.  The  King  of  England 
can  bestow  his  royal  pardon  and  manifest  his  royal 
clemency  to  a  man  who  is  in  prison,  and  when  that 
man  goes  out,  he  is  a  free  man,  with  the  King's 
pardon.  Yet  as  we  see  him  going  along  the  road, 
we  know  he  is  a  pardoned  criminal.  What  the  King 
of  England  cannot  do  is  to  reinstate  the  man  as  if  he 


20  POSSIBILITY 

had  never  broken  the  law.  To  the  end  of  his  days 
he  will  be  a  pardoned  criminal.  But  the  Christian  is 
not  only  a  pardoned  criminal,  he  is  a  perfectly 
righteous  man.  What  the  King  of  England  cannot 
do,  the  King  of  Kings  can  do.  That  is  the  meaning 
of  righteousness.  An  old  woman  once  said,  "  It  is 
too  good  to  be  true,  but,  praise  the  Lord,  it  is  true !  " 
We  can  heartily  endorse  that  old  woman's  theology. 
We  have  righteousness,  we  are  righteous  in  Christ, 
in  the  Lord  who  is  our  righteousness.  That  is  what 
St.  Paul  means  in  the  well-known  passage :  "  He 
who  knew  no  sin  was  made  sin  for  us  that  we  might 
become  God's  righteousness  in  Him." 

And  we  are  in  Christ  for  peace.  If  pardon  is  safety 
from  condemnation,  and  righteousness  safety  from 
guilt,  peace  is  safety  from  fear.  In  some  respects 
fear  is  the  most  terrible  of  all  our  daily  experiences. 
Yet  the  new  blessing  of  pardon,  and  the  new  gift  of 
righteousness,  will  always  issue  in  the  new  relation- 
ship of  peace.  First  comes  peace  with  God,  and  out 
of  that  "  the  peace  of  God  "  filling  our  souls.  This 
is  exactly  what  our  Lord  said :  "  These  things  have  I 
spoken  unto  you  that  in  Me  ye  might  have  peace." 
On  the  day  when  Adam  and  Eve  sinned  there  were 
three  immediate  results.  The  moment  they  sinned 
there  was  a  consciousness  of  guilt.  They  knew  they 
had  done  wrong.     That  was  immediately  followed  by 


KNOWLEDGE  21 

a  sentence  of  condemnation.  God  condemned  their 
sin.  That  in  turn  was  followed  by  an  act  of  separa- 
tion. They  were  driven  out  of  the  Garden  of  Eden. 
Guilt ;  condemnation ;  separation.  Now  think  of  the 
Gospel.  At  the  end  of  Romans  viii.  the  Apostle  asks 
three  questions :  "  Who  shall  lay  anything  to  the 
charge  of  God's  elect  ?  "  There  is  no  guilt.  "  Who  is 
he  that  condemneth  ?  "  There  is  no  condemnation. 
"  Who  shall  separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ  ?  " 
There  is  no  separation.  So  that  the  very  three  things 
we  lost  through  sin  we  more  than  gain  in  Christ. 
This  is  our  safe  position,  "  Ye  in  Me." 

III.  We  proceed  to  notice  our  Sure  Provision. 
"  I  in  you."  Christ  in  the  Father  is  our  protection  ; 
the  believer  in  Christ  is  our  position  ;  and  Christ  in 
the  believer  is  our  provision.  "  I  in  you  "  is  intended 
first  of  all  for  life.  Christ  provides  more  than  pardon  ; 
He  gives  life.  He  provides  more  than  peace;  He 
bestows  life.  Our  Lord  Himself  tells  us  this  :  "  I  am 
come  that  ye  might  have  life,"  and  all  through  the 
fourth  Gospel  the  key-note  of  almost  every  chapter  is 
life,  until  at  length  we  have  the  purpose  of  the  whole, 
"  That  ye  might  believe,  and,  believing,  have  life  " 
(xx.  31).  So  that  the  highest  gift  is  life,  and  this 
means  Christ  in  the  believer  as  his  life,  just  as  St.  Paul 
says  :  "  I  live,  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me." 
Let  us  take  time  to  dwell  upon  this,  and  when  we  are 


22  POSSIBILITY 

alone,  let  us  spend  a  moment  and  say  to  ourselves 
perhaps  aloud,  "  Christ  lives  in  me." 

Christ  is  in  us  not  only  for  life,  but  for  grace, 
Grace  in  the  New  Testament  is  in  some  respects  one 
of  the  greatest  words.  It  always  means  two  things — 
God's  favour  and  His  blessing  ;  His  attitude  arid  His 
action.  We  are  told  of  grace  to  "  help  in  time  of 
need  " ;  that  grace  is  •'  sufficient "  ;  that "  God  is  able  to 
make  all  grace  abound."  There  are  no  two  people 
alike.  It  is  probable  there  is  no  experience  that 
can  be  paralleled  exactly  by  any  other  experience. 
And  yet,  whatever  may  be  our  personal  need,  or  our 
different  hereditary  tendencies,  or  our  actual  experi- 
ence, God's  grace  is  sufficient,  and  it  is  really  only  a 
false  pride  that  would  hide  itself  saying,  "  There  is  no 
life  like  mine,  and  my  needs  are  too  exceptional  to  be 
supplied ! "  Let  us  face  Scripture  when  it  says, 
"  God  is  able  to  make  all  grace  abound  towards  you, 
that  ye,  having  all-sufficiency  in  all  things,  may 
abound  unto  all  good  work  "  (2  Cor.  ix.  8). 

Then  Christ  is  in  the  behever  for  hope.  This 
points  to  the  future.  "  Hope  springs  eternal  in  the 
human  breast,"  and  hope  is  one  of  the  three  Christian 
graces,  and  a  very  prominent  feature  in  New  Testa- 
ment Christianity.  We  find  there  not  only  faith  and 
love,  but  hope.  Hope  is  always  associated  with  the 
coming  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.     The  reason  why 


KNOWLEDGE  3S 

people  are  not  full  of  hope  is  because  they  are  not  con- 
cerned as  they  ought  to  be  about  the  Lord's  coming. 
In  Scripture  the  Lord's  coming  is  mentioned  over 
three  hundred  times.  This  prominence  shows  its 
importance.  Hope,  in  the  New  Testament,  is  never 
mere  buoyancy  of  temperament,  but  a  Christian 
grace  centred  on  the  coming  of  the  Lord.  This  is 
what  we  mean  by  Christ  in  us  for  hope.  "  Christ  in 
you  the  hope  of  glory." 

IV.  We  are  also  reminded  of  our  Satisfying 
Privilege.  "  Ye  shall  know."  What  does  this 
mean?  To  know,  in  the  New  Testament,  is  far 
more  than  something  merely  intellectual ;  it  is  that 
which  may  be  called  the  verifying  faculty,  including 
mind,  heart,  conscience  and  will.  Knowledge  in  the 
New  Testament  is  experience  expressed  in  assurance. 
And  the  text  promises  that  we  shall  "  know  "  the 
very  three  things  mentioned. 

"  Ye  shall  know  that  I  am  in  My  Father."  There 
shall  be  assurance  in  the  believer's  life  that  Christ  is 
in  the  Father.  This  comes  through  the  Resurrec- 
tion. From  the  time  of  the  Resurrection  onwards 
Christ  is  never  said  to  have  raised  Himself.  It  is  al- 
ways the  act  of  God.  The  Resurrection  was  not 
Christ's  own  act,  but  God's  act  in  vindicating  His 
Son,  in  bearing  witness  to  what  He  thought  about 
Christ.     When  the  believer  is  assured  that  the  Lord 


24  POSSIBILITY 

Jesus  Christ  is  raised  from  the  dead,  he  gets  the  as- 
surance that  God  did  it,  and  that  this  is  what  God 
thinks  of  His  beloved  Son. 

"  Ye  shall  know  "  also  that  the  believer  is  in  Christ. 
This  comes  through  the  death  of  Christ.  We  have 
the  assurance  that  we  are  in  Christ  because  of  His 
death.  That  death  in  the  New  Testament  always 
means  these  three  things  :  Substitution — "  He  died 
instead  of  me  "  ;  Representation — "  He  died  on  be- 
half of  me  "  ;  Identification — "  I  died  when  He 
died."  We  cannot  properly  understand  the  Atone- 
ment unless  we  take  all  these  three  together ;  and  the 
assurance,  "  Ye  shall  know  that  ye  are  in  Me,"  is  the 
assurance  that  the  death  of  Christ  took  place  for  our 
salvation,  and  covers  all  our  need. 

Then  there  is  the  assurance  that  Christ  is  in  us : 
*•  Ye  shall  know  that  I  am  in  you."  This  is  as- 
sociated with  the  life  of  Christ.  We  have  the  assur- 
ance that  Christ  is  living.  There  is  a  well-known 
story  of  a  man  looking  at  a  picture  of  the  Crucifixion 
in  a  shop  window,  and  a  little  ragged  urchin  also 
looking  at  it.  The  man  pretended  to  know  nothing 
about  it,  and  said  to  the  boy,  "  What's  that  ?  "  The 
boy,  astonished,  replied,  "  Don't  you  know  that  is 
Jesus  on  the  Cross  who  died  ?  "  And  he  told  him  the 
story  of  the  Crucifixion.  ♦♦  Oh,"  said  the  gentle- 
man, "  is  it  ?  "  and  walked  away.     In  a  little  while  he 


KNOWLEDGE  26 

heard  footsteps  coming  after  him.  It  was  the  little 
boy,  and  he  said,  •'  Sir,  I  wanted  to  tell  you  that  He 
is  alive."  Yes,  this  is  the  New  Testament  perspec- 
tive, "  I  am  He  that  liveth  and  was  dead,  and,  be- 
hold, I  am  alive  for  evermore."  The  assurance  of 
Scripture  is,  "  Ye  shall  know  that  I  am  in  you,"  the 
living  Christ.  So  we  have  life  and  death  and  Resur- 
rection as  the  guarantee  of  our  assurance  in  Christ. 

This  knowledge  provides  us  with  certainty.  "  Ye 
shall  know."  St.  Luke  wrote  his  Gospel,  "  that  thou 
mightest  know  the  certainty."  Certainty  is  what 
every  one  desires.  "  That  ye  may  know."  There  is 
so  much  uncertainty  to-day.  Some  one  has  said 
that  "  Mystery  involves  all  spiritual  truths."  But  if 
this  is  so,  it  is  not  the  mystery  of  vagueness  and  con- 
fusion, but  of  truth's  Divinity  and  glory.  It  is  not 
the  mystery  of  fog,  but  of  sunshine,  a  mystery  "  dark 
with  excess  of  light."  The  mystery  is  not  m  the 
truths,  but  in  those  associated  with  them.  A  modern 
writer  said  not  long  ago  that  in  the  old  days  the 
prophets  were  absolutely  certain,  and  said,  "  Here  I 
am,"  but  nowadays  the  people  say,  "  Where  am  I  ?  " 
The  New  Testament  has  no  such  uncertainty.  It 
has  been  acutely  pointed  out  that  there  are  two  notes 
of  modern  life  not  found  in  the  New  Testament — 
wistfulness  and  pensiveness.  There  is  nothing  wist- 
ful and  nothing  pensive  about  New  Testament  Chris- 


26  POSSIBILITY 

tianity  :  "  I  know,"  "  I  have,"  "  I  believe."  "  I  am 
persuaded  that  He  is  able  to  keep  that  which  I  have 
committed  unto  Him  against  that  day."  It  is  usual 
to  find  out  on  enlistment  a  man's  religious  denomi- 
nation. A  soldier  was  once  asked,  "  What  is  your 
persuasion  ? "  He  replied,  "  I  am  persuaded  that 
nothing  shall  separate  me  from  the  love  of  Christ." 
Just  so;  and  this  is  the  assurance  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament. 

V.  But  the  Word  does  not  leave  us  without  tell- 
ing of  our  Spiritual  Power.  "  In  that  day  ye  shall 
know."  What  does  this  mean  ?  "  In  that  day  " — 
we  find  the  phrase  three  times  in  these  chapters 
— once  here,  and  twice  in  the  sixteenth.  "  In  that 
day  "  means,  of  course,  the  Christian  dispensation, 
from  the  day  of  Pentecost  onwards.  "  In  that  day  " 
is  in  the  day  when  the  Holy  Spirit  should  come. 
"  Ye  shall  know,"  and  therefore  all  our  Christian  life 
is  to  be  associated  with  the  Holy  Spirit. 

First,  the  Holy  Spirit  is  a  Divine  gift.  Pentecost 
was  a  kind  of  watershed.  It  looked  back  upon  the 
time  when  the  Lord  Jesus  was  upon  earth,  and  looked 
forward  to  the  time  when  the  disciples  should  be 
influenced  and  empowered  by  the  Lord  Christ  above. 
The  Holy  Ghost  was  the  gift  of  the  Father  to  the 
Son,  and  the  Son  shed  forth  that  gift  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost.     The  Spirit  of  God  was  not  given  before, 


KNOWLEDGE  27 

in  that  sense,  because  Jesus  Christ  was  not  yet  glori- 
fied. It  was  necessary  for  Him  to  go  up  before  the 
Holy  Spirit  could  come  down.  But  when  He  as- 
cended and  received  the  gift,  He  poured  it  forth,  and 
the  Divine  Spirit  has  been  with  the  Church  ever  since. 
"  In  that  day,"  therefore,  means  the  whole  of  this 
dispensation,  including  the  present  moment. 

From  this  comes  the  thought  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as 
an  inward  witness.  The  Divine  Gift  of  Pentecost 
becomes  the  inward  possession  of  every  individual 
believer  who  accepts  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  his 
Saviour ;  for,  on  believing,  he  is  sealed  with  the  Holy 
Spirit.  The  Holy  Spirit  becomes  his,  and  at  once 
the  Holy  Spirit  begins  to  work  in  his  soul  and  to 
give  him  assurance. 

Then  there  is  the  Holy  Spirit  as  an  outward  power 
in  the  life,  manifesting  itself  in  character  and  service. 
This  is  the  meaning  of  "  In  that  day."  Every  gift  in 
Christianity  is  associated  with  the  Holy  Spirit.  This 
is  the  unique  feature  of  the  Christian  religion,  con- 
trasted with  which  all  other  religions  are  as  nothing. 
Other  religions  have  their  books,  their  ethics,  their 
philosophy,  but  not  one  of  them  has  a  Holy  Spirit, 
as  Christianity  has, 

"  And  every  virtue  we  possess, 
And  every  victory  won, 
And  every  thought  of  holine»« — 
Are  His  alone." 


98  POSSIBILITY 

This,  then,  is  the  New  Testament  life — these  four 
things:  perfect  safety,  perfect  standing,  perfect 
strength,  and  perfect  satisfaction.  Perfect  safety — 
♦'  saved  in  the  Lord  with  an  everlasting  salvation ; " 
perfect  standing — "  accepted  in  the  Beloved ;  "  perfect 
strength — "  strong  in  the  Lord  and  in  the  power  of 
His  might ;  "  perfect  satisfaction — "  satisfied  with 
favour,  full  with  the  blessing  of  the  Lord."  Let  us 
rest  upon  these,  let  us  rejoice  in  them,  because  they 
are  ours  in  Christ. 

But  now  comes  the  question  whether  we  "  know  " 
these  things.  Are  they  ours  ?  Does  anything  hinder 
us  from  enjoying  this  Christianity  ?  Shall  we  not  ask 
ourselves  this  question  ?  We  have  our  needs,  and 
our  difficulties,  but  God  will  meet  and  overcome  our 
difficulties,  and  satisfy  all  our  needs,  if  we  will  just 
face  this  question,  and  get  right  with  Him. 

There  are  perhaps  only  five  possibilities  in  ex- 
planation of  the  reason  why  we  do  not  enjoy  our 
Christian  religion.  The  first,  and  in  some  respects 
the  greatest,  is  sin.  Yet  that  need  not  trouble  us, 
because  "  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  us 
from  all  sin."  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  able  to  deal 
with  "  sins  "  (Rom.  iii.  25),  and  also  "  sin  "  (Rom.  vi. 
7) — the  root  of  sin  and  its  fruit  in  sins.  He  can  deal 
with  every  one  of  them  under  all  circumstances. 

It  may  not  be  sin,  but  sorrow.     There  are  some 


KNOWLEDGE  29 

who  are  weighed  down  with  a  burden  of  sorrow, 
sorrow  in  their  hearts,  sorrow  in  their  homes,  sorrow 
in  their  church,  sorrow  among  their  acquaintances — 
some  sorrow  that  is  terribly  burdensome.  To  all  such 
God  says,  "  Be  of  good  cheer."  A  man  wrote  a  post- 
card to  a  friend,  and  on  that  side  of  the  post-card 
where  it  says  "  Address  only "  he  wrote  the  words, 
•'  Be  of  good  cheer."  When  the  friend  received  the 
post- card  he  was  compelled  to  pay  extra  postage, 
and  was  not  particularly  pleased.  He  looked  to  see 
what  the  reason  was,  and  on  the  "Address"  side  he 
saw  the  words,  "  Be  of  good  cheer,"  and  underneath 
the  postal  authorities'  stamp,  "  Contrary  to  regula- 
tion." There  are  many  Christians  who  think  that  to 
be  of  good  cheer  is  contrary  to  regulation.  That 
is  why  they  are  doleful  and  sad.  They  look,  as  it 
has  been  said,  as  if  their  religion  did  not  agree  with 
them.  Cheerfulness  and  smiles  ought  to  belong  to  the 
Christian  religion  ;  these  are  not  contrary  to  the  regu- 
lations. "  These  things  write  I  unto  you,  that  My  joy 
may  remain  in  you,  and  that  your  joy  may  be  full." 
Then  there  are  some  people  whom  circumsta7tces 
keep  from  enjoyment  of  religion.  And  yet  what  are 
these  ?  Just  think  of  the  word  "  circumstances  " — 
those  things  that  "  stand  round "  us.  But  if  they 
stand  round  they  cannot  keep  out  the  sky.  And  so 
we  must  not  trouble  about  things  around  us,  but  keep 


30  POSSIBILITY 

looking  up.  Isaiah  xli.  lo:  "Fear  thou  not;  for  I 
am  with  thee :  look  not  around  thee,  for  I  am  thy 
God  "  (Hebrew).  Circumstances  should  never  over- 
come us.  "  How  is  Mrs.  So-and-So  ? "  "  She  is 
pretty  well,"  was  the  reply, "  under  the  circumstances." 
Then  came  the  rejoinder,  "  What  is  she  doing  under 
the  circumstances  ?  The  circumstances  ought  to  be 
under  her." 

But  some  one  says  that  it  is  Satan;  not  sin  or 
sorrow  or  circumstances,  but  Satan.  And  yet  Satan 
is  a  defeated  foe.  The  Lord  said,  "  The  prince  of 
this  world  cometh  and  hath  nothing  in  Me."  And 
the  Apostle  said,  "  Resist  the  devil,  and  he  will  flee 
from  you."  If  we  resist  him,  he  will  go.  He  can 
never  overcome  your  individuality,  and  the  grace  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  more  than  sufficient  to  meet 
every  onslaught.  "  I  give  you  power  over  all  the 
power  of  the  enemy;  and  nothing  shall  by  any 
means  hurt  you." 

Some  one  else  says  that  it  is  due  to  self.  That 
is,  in  many  cases,  the  greatest  trouble  of  all.  Yet 
the  Apostle  says,  "  Not  I,  but  Christ "  ;  "  Not  I,  but 
the  grace  of  God  that  is  with  me  "  ;  "  Not  I,  but  the 
Lord."  Three  times  over  he  says, "  Not  I,  but  .  .  ." 
If  we  face  self  in  that  way,  self  shall  never  have  the 
victory.  "  It  is  just  as  different  as  can  be,"  said  a 
young  believer. 


KNOWLEDGE  31 

"  What  is  so  different  ?  " 

"  Being  a  Christian.  Everything  is  so  different 
from  what  I  expected." 

*'  What  did  you  expect  ?  " 

"  When  you  used  to  talk  to  me  about  being  a 
Christian  I  used  to  say  to  myself, '  No,  I  cannot,  for 
I  shall  have  to  do  so  many  hard  things,  and  I  never 
can  do  them.  If  I  become  a  Christian,  I  shall  have 
to  attend  church,  and  pray,  and  read  my  Bible.'  It 
is  so  different  from  what  I  thought." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  You  go  to  church,  and 
you  pray,  and  you  read  your  Bible." 

••  Yes,  but  then  I  love  to  do  them.  That  makes 
all  the  difference.  I  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
therefore  love  to  do  all  that  He  wishes  me  to  do." 

A  man  said  to  another,  "  Did  you  not  say  that  if  a 
man  became  a  Christian  he  could  do  as  he  liked  ?  " 
"  Yes,  I  did."  "  Well,  come  with  me  to-night  to  the 
theatre."     "  Ah  !  but  I  don't  like!' 

I  once  heard  a  friend  say,  "  Faith  makes  all  things 
possible,  and  love  makes  all  things  easy."  I  would 
venture  to  add  that  hope  makes  all  things  bright. 
Here  is  Christianity,  and  if  you  want  to  know  how 
to  become  a  Christian,  and  enjoy  Christianity  to  the 
full,  it  is  all  summed  up  in  the  little  word  •'  trust." 
It  means,  first,  the  acceptance  of  God's  Word ;  sec- 
ondly, surrender  to  Christ ;  and  thirdly,  the  reception 


32  POSSIBILITY 

of  His  grace.  In  Ephesians  iii.  I2  we  find  four 
words,  and  if  we  reverse  them  we  get  Christianity 
in  the  proper  order.  "  In  whom  we  have  boldness, 
and  access  with  confidence,  through  the  faith  of 
Him."  First  faith,  then  confidence,  then  access,  and 
then  boldness ;  and  there  we  have  the  whole  of  the 
Christian  hfe.  That  is  the  meaning  of  "  trust,"  of 
which  we  read  so  much  in  the  New  Testament.  It 
means  taking  God  at  His  word,  surrendering  to  Him, 
receiving  His  grace,  and,  of  course,  living  in  His 
presence. 

Some  will  perhaps  remember  the  story  of  the  two 
friends  of  the  great  painter,  Turner.  They  visited 
him  in  order  to  see  his  pictures.  When  they  arrived. 
Turner  kept  them  for  a  short  while  in  a  closely- 
shaded  room  before  he  sent  the  servant  to  take  them 
up  to  the  studio.  Arrived  in  the  studio,  he  apolo- 
gized for  his  apparent  rudeness  by  telling  them  that 
it  was  necessary  for  their  eyes  to  be  emptied  of  any 
glare  before  they  could  appreciate  the  colours  in  his 
pictures.  We  need  to  live  in  the  presence  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  order  that  we  may  be  emptied 
of  everything  that  is  common  and  earthly,  and  in 
order  also  that  we  may  see  and  rejoice  in  His  beauty. 
Living  with  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  living  a  life  of 
trust  and  fellowship  will  give  us  all  this  true  Chris- 
tian experience. 


KNOWLEDGE  3 

**  Live  every  day  with  Jesus, 

And  tell  Him  everything; 
A  life  of  richest  blessing 

Thy  months  and  years  will  bring ; 
Tell  Him  thy  aims  and  wishes, 

Tell  Him  thy  hopes  and  fears ; 
The  sunshine  of  His  presence 

Illumines  smiles  and  tears. 

"  Live  every  day  with  Jesus ; 

Let  Him  thy  life  control, 
His  voice  of  love  inspiring 

Each  impulse  of  the  soul ; 
Lean  on  His  word  for  guidance, 

Speak  to  Him  of  each  grief, 
Telling  all  things  to  Jesus 

Brings  gladness  and  relief. 

**  Live  every  day  for  Jesus; 

Oh,  happy,  restful  lot  ! 
His  watchful  care  about  Thee ; 

Never  by  Him  forgot ; 
In  darkest  hour  still  with  thee, 

In  loneliest  hour  thy  Friend, 
Who  never  will  forsake  thee 

Unto  thy  journey's  end. 

"  And  then  ?  to  live  with  Jesus 
In  the  full  sunlight,  where 
No  pain,  or  loss,  or  sorrow 

Will  need  thy  trust  and  prayer; 
But  joy — His  joy — forever 

Will  crown  His  work  of  grace, 
And  thou  shall  serve,  beholding 
The  glory  of  God's  face." 

—J.  H.  S. 


II 

POWER 

ST.  PAUL  tells  us  that  the  things  which  hap- 
pened to  Israel  happened  unto  them  for  en- 
samples  or  types,  and  that  the  record  was 
given  for  our  admonition  (i  Cor.  x.  ii).  We  are 
therefore  justified  in  utilizing  the  history  of  Israel  for 
spiritual  purposes  to-day.  One  important  caution 
is  necessary.  We  must  bear  in  mind  that  whenever 
there  are  promises  of  future  glory  to  Israel  in  the 
Old  Testament  our  use  of  those  promises  is  spiritual 
and  secondary,  by  way  of  application,  and  is  not 
historical  and  primary,  by  way  of  interpretation.  If 
we  are  not  careful  in  this  matter  we  shall  incur  the 
somewhat  cynical  and  yet  true  condemnation  of 
those  who  take  all  the  blessings  to  themselves  and 
leave  the  curses  to  the  Jews  !  The  headings  of  our 
Authorized  Version,  page  and  chapter,  in  Isaiah, 
have  much  to  answer  for  in  this  respect,  because 
they  take  the  promises  to  Israel  and  apply  them  to 
the  Church,  with  which  primarily  they  have  nothing 
whatever  to  do.  But  when  we  keep  this  truth 
clearly  and  constantly  in   mind,  there  is  no  reason 

34 


POWEE  36 

why  we  should  not  use  Old  Testament  passages  with 
reference  to  our  life  to-day. 

With  this  in  view  we  may  look  at  an  Old  Testa- 
ment prophecy  in  Obadiah  to  learn  from  it  the  se- 
crets of  power  for  hoUness  :  "  Upon  Mount  Zion 
shall  be  deliverance,  and  there  shall  be  holiness :  and 
the  House  of  Jacob  shall  possess  their  possessions  " 
(Obad.  17). 

This  prophecy  seems  to  indicate  some  of  the  vital 
and  fundamental  realities  associated  with  the  Christian 
hfe.  Israel  is  depicted  as  redeemed,  restored  to  their 
former  glory,  after  bondage  to  their  terrible  enemy, 
Edom.  They  are  told  that  there  will  come  a  day 
when  there  shall  be  deliverance  from  their  foe,  a 
fresh  consecration  to  God,  and  a  recovery  of  all 
their  possessions,  as  in  the  former  time. 

What  do  we  understand  by  the  Christian  life  ? 
What  are  those  blessings  of  which  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments  are  full? 

I.  The  first  element  is  Safety.  "  In  Mount  Zion 
there  shall  be  deliverance."  In  the  Revised  Version 
it  is  "  those  that  escape."  This  is  the  foundation  of 
everything — safety.  The  Gospel  starts  here.  The 
great  New  Testament  word  "  salvation  "  means  noth- 
ing more  and  nothing  less,  in  the  first  place,  than 
safety,  deliverance,  escape  from  'Cao.  penalty  of  sin. 
This  is  the  first  step  into  the  Christian  life ;  and  it  is 


36  POSSIBILITY 

well  for  us  to  ask  this  question,  "  Have  I  taken  it  ?  " 
It  is  not  altogether  inaccurate  to  say  that  from  time 
to  time  people  have  the  second  step  in  mind  rather 
than  the  first.  Yet  we  know  it  is  utterly  impossible 
to  take  a  second  step  before  we  have  taken  the  first, 
and  holiness,  a  truer  and  purer  and  nobler  life,  is 
utterly  impossible  until  and  unless  we  have  settled 
this  first  question — escape,  deliverance,  safety,  from 
the  penalty  of  sin. 

Sometimes  we  speak  of  this  theologically  as  Justi- 
fication. The  word  matters  not ;  what  is  essential 
is  the  reality,  the  experience.  So  there  comes  to 
every  one  of  us  this  question,  '•  Am  I  safe?  Am  I 
delivered  from  the  penalty  of  sin  ?  "  To  which  the 
true  reply  is,  "  There  is  therefore  now  no  condemna- 
tion to  them  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus."  It  need 
hardly  be  said  that  the  way  of  deliverance  is  the  way 
of  faith,  the  acceptance  of  Him  who  died  that  we 
might  live,  who  by  His  death  became  our  righteous- 
ness, "  that  we  might  become  the  righteousness  of 
God  in  Him."  This  is  the  first  and  fundamental 
element  of  the  Christian  life,  deliverance  from  the 
penalty  of  sin. 

But,  of  course,  deliverance  goes  on  to  refer  to  the 
power  of  sin — "  Those  that  escape,"  that  is,  those 
who  are  safe  from  the  power  of  sin.  This  again, 
theologically,   is   sometimes    spoken    of — perhaps    a 


POWEE  37 

little  inaccurately — as  Sanctification ;  but  it  will 
serve  for  our  present  purpose — deliverance  from  the 
power  of  sin,  whether  that  power  is  realized  in  con- 
nection with  Satan,  or  with  circumstances,  or  with 
self,  our  three  spiritual  foes.  We  read  in  St.  John's 
Epistle  and  elsewhere  of  victory.  This  is  the  thought 
in  connection  with  the  prophecy  of  Obadiah  ;  escape, 
deliverance,  safety,  in  regard  to  the  power  of  sin  as 
it  faces  us  to-day.  Assuming  that  we  have  learned 
what  it  means  to  be  delivered  from  the  penalty  of 
sin,  assuming  that  we  have  learned  what  it  means  to 
have  entered  into  that  experience,  we  are  to  learn 
more  of  what  deliverance  from  the  power  of  sin 
means,  the  secret  of  victory  over  Satan,  over  the 
world,  and  over  self.  "  In  Mount  Zion  there  shall 
be  safety." 

II.  Then  comes  the  thought  of  Sanctity.  "  And 
there  shall  be  holiness."  It  will  be  worth  while  to 
remind  ourselves  afresh  of  the  fundamental  concep- 
tion of  "  holiness "  in  the  Old  Testament  and  in 
the  New.  The  root  idea  is  always  "  separateness." 
Whether  we  take  the  Hebrew  word  or  the  Greek, 
whether  we  think  of  the  English  words  connected 
with  holy  and  holiness,  or  with  saint,  sanctification 
and  saintliness,  the  fundamental,  basic  thought  is 
"  separateness."  There  is  an  entirely  different  set 
of  words  connected  with  purification.     Purification 


38  POSSIBILITY 

does  not  enter  into  the  etymology  of  the  word  which 
we  translate  as  "  sanctification,"  though  the  experi- 
ence of  purity  is  an  essential  and  vital  result  and 
consequence.  If  we  look  at  a  passage  like  Ephesians 
V.  26  we  see  that  our  Lord  gave  Himself  for  the 
Church  that  He  might  sanctify,  that  is,  separate  it, 
"having  purified  it."  There  are  other  texts  which 
clearly  mark  the  distinction  between  the  thought  of 
sanctification  and  purification. 

What  do  we  mean  by  separateness  ?  Negatively, 
we  are  to  understand  separateness  from  sin  ;  posi- 
tively, separateness  unto  God.  "  There  shall  be 
separateness,"  or  "  There  shall  be  sanctity."  That  is 
one  of  the  fundamental  and  predominant  notes  of  the 
New  Testament — separation  from,  separation  unto. 
This  is  why  places  can  be  called  holy.  There  was 
no  moral  virtue  in  any  part  of  the  Tabernacle.  It 
was  not  purer  than  any  other  place,  but  it  was  never- 
theless called  holy,  because  it  was  separated  unto 
God.  And  so  it  was  called  a  sacred  place ;  because 
sacred  has  the  same  idea  as  holy — cut  off,  separated, 
devoted.  We  read  that  Esau  was  a  •'  profane  per- 
son." Our  modern  idea  of  "  profane "  and  "  pro- 
fanity "  is  very  specific,  and  has  reference  to  one  or 
two  definite  forms  of  evil.  The  original  idea  of 
«'  profane  "  is  quite  different.  Outside  every  temple 
there  was  an  enclosure  which  was  perfectly  public. 


POWEE  89 

It  was  called  by  the  name  oi pro  fanum,  "  before  the 
fane,"  "  before  the  temple."  Everybody  was  allowed 
there ;  the  ground  was  trodden  on  ;  everybody  had 
a  right  to  do  what  he  liked.  But  inside  was  the 
sacred  enclosure,  cut  off  from  the  rest.  That  was 
the  "  fane  "  ;  the  other  was  the  /fro  fanum.  Esau 
was  just  that  kind  of  man,  not  necessarily  evil,  but 
what  we  should  call  secular.  God  did  not  enter  into 
his  life.  There  was  no  sacred  enclosure  where  God 
reigned  supreme.  That  is  why  he  was  spoken  of  as 
a  "  profane  person."  There  are  many  to-day  of 
whom  this  is  true.  They  never  fall  into  gross  or 
open  sin.  They  are  not  sensual ;  perhaps  only  par- 
tially are  they  sensuous,  and  yet  they  are  living  their 
life  altogether  separate  from  God.  They  are  secular, 
there  is  nothing  devoted  to  God.  Let  us  therefore 
keep  this  thought  before  us.  Sanctification  in  the 
Bible  use  of  the  word  is  separateness.  There  are 
two  words  in  the  Greek,  as  students  know,  hagios 
and  hosios  {ayto^^  oaco^).  One  means  "  devoted " 
and  the  other  means  "  devout."  We  are  now  con- 
cerned with  the  former,  and  the  idea  of  the  Old 
Testament  as  well  as  the  New  is  a  life  that  is  sepa- 
rated from  everything  that  is  known  to  be  wrong,  a 
life  that  is  devoted  to  God  at  all  times. 

III.     Then   comes,   thirdly,   the   truth  of  Suffi- 
CIENXY.     "  And   the   house   of  Jacob   shall  possess 


40  POSSIBILITY 

their  possessions."  Safety,  sanctity,  sufficiency. 
Tliere  was  a  vast  area  of  land  called  originally  the 
holy,  the  separated  land,  which  Israel  had  allowed  to 
be  taken  up  by  their  enemy.  God  had  given  it  to 
them,  but  they  had  not  properly  possessed  it  or  kept 
it.  The  enemy  had  taken  it;  and  this  promise  is 
that  the  day  would  come  when  they  should  again 
enter  into  their  heritage  and  possess  their  possessions. 
Let  us  think  for  a  moment  of  the  fact  of  our 
spiritual  possessions  in  Christ — safety  and  sanctity, 
with  a  view  to  spiritual  possessions  in  Him.  Think 
of  those  passages  which  are  famihar  to  us,  though 
they  are  well  worth  putting  together.  "  Shall  He 
not  with  Him  also  freely  give  us  all  things  ?  "  (Rom. 
viii.  32).  "  All  things  are  yours  "  (i  Cor.  iii.  22). 
"  Hath  given  unto  us  all  things  that  pertain  unto  life 
and  godliness  "  (2  Pet.  i.  3).  "  Blessed  be  the  God 
and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  hath 
blessed  us  with  all  spiritual  blessings  in  the  heaven- 
lies  in  Christ  "  (Eph.  i.  3).  So,  "  accepted  in  Christ  " 
is  intended  to  mean  "  endowed  in  Christ."  It  is  not 
future,  "  will  bless,"  but  past,  •'  has  blessed  us  with  all 
spiritual  blessings."  In  that  wonderful  passage, 
Ephesians  i.  3-14,  we  see  that  the  Apostle,  after 
having  stated  the  fact  of  all  spiritual  blessings,  pro- 
ceeds to  show  how  these  blessings  have  come — in 
the  purpose  of  the  Father  (verses  3-6) ;  by  the  pur- 


POWEE  41 

chase  of  the  Son  (verses  7-12)  ;  and  by  the  power  of 
the  Spirit  (verses  13-14).  Each  section  of  that  para- 
graph ends  with  a  similar  phrase.  The  Father's 
purpose  was  intended  to  be  «'  to  the  praise  of  the 
glory  of  His  grace."  The  Son's  purchase  was  to  be 
"  to  the  praise  of  His  glory."  The  Spirit's  power 
was  to  be  "  unto  the  praise  of  His  glory."  So, 
whether  eternally  purposed  in  the  Father,  or  his- 
torically provided  in  the  Son,  or  personally  applied 
by  the  Spirit,  these  are  the  possessions  which  are  in- 
tended for  us,  for  our  abundant  provision  day  by 
day. 

There  are  many  passages  in  which  this  specific 
message  is  brought  before  us,  but  there  is  one  of 
perhaps  special  importance.  The  very  heart  of  the 
Christian  Hfe  will  be  found  in  Romans  viii.  1-4,  for 
not  only  do  they  contain  the  substance  of  the  Gos- 
pel for  the  saint,  but  there  is  a  wonderful  connection 
between  them  and  the  chapters  that  immediately  pre- 
cede and  follow.  Verse  one  of  Romans  viii.  looks 
back  on  and  takes  up  Romans  v.,  "  There  is  710  sort 
of  condemnation  to  them  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus 
(Greek)."  This  is  how  the  Christian  life  begins 
(Rom,  v.  I-I  i).  Verse  two  of  Romans  viii.  takes  up 
chapter  vi.,  "  The  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  hath 
made  me  free."  The  whole  of  chapter  vi.  is  con- 
cerned with  freedom.     Verse  three  of  Romans  viii. 


42  POSSIBILITY 

deals  with  chapter  vii.,  "  What  the  law  could  not 
do  ;  "  for  Romans  vii.  is  concerned  with  the  power- 
lessness  of  the  law  to  give  holiness.  And  verse  four 
of  Romans  viii.  is  the  germ  of  the  rest  of  that  chap- 
ter. So  we  need  freedom  from  condemnation,  we 
need  deliverance ;  we  need  to  realize  the  powerless- 
ness  of  the  law  of  holiness,  and  then  the  power  of  the 
Spirit  to  enable  us  to  live  according  to  the  will  of 
God  ;  and  this  is  the  sum  and  substance  of  spiritual 
possessions. 

But,  of  course,  we  are  also  concerned  with  pos- 
sessing our  possessions,  for  it  is  only  too  possible  to 
have  and  not  to  enjoy.  There  is  a  familiar  story 
told  of  a  farmer  who,  after  long  years  of  toil,  died 
lamenting  that  he  had  so  little  to  leave  to  his  needy 
sons.  The  sons  had  the  same  idea  of  their  patri- 
mony, and  thought  very  little  of  it  by  reason  of 
the  poverty  of  the  soil  and  their  inability  to  realize 
any  value  in  it.  So  they  sold  it  to  men  who  knew 
that  underneath  there  was  vast  mineral  wealth,  which 
they  turned  in  due  course  to  good  account.  The 
father  and  the  sons  were  potentially  rich,  possessors 
of  a  wonderful  property,  and  yet  did  not  possess  their 
possessions.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  to  many 
Christians  like  a  vast  estate  with  infinite  possibilities, 
with  wealth  unexplored,  territory  uncultivated,  beau- 
ties not  enjoyed  and  produce  unused.     Yet  God  is 


POWER  43 

asking  each  one  of  us  this  question :  ♦'  Are  you  pos- 
sessing your  possessions  ?  " 

Why  do  Christians  so  often  fail  at  this  vital  point  ? 
What  are  some  of  the  reasons  why  God's  people  do 
not  possess  their  possessions?  One  is  ignorance. 
They  do  not  know,  they  do  not  realize,  what  their 
possessions  are  in  Christ  Jesus,  And  yet  God  de- 
sires us  to  have  illumination,  enlightenment,  "  that 
we  may  know  the  things  that  are  freely  given  to  us 
of  God." 

In  other  cases  it  is  slothfulness  that  prevents  God's 
people  from  entering  into  their  possessions.  They 
have  touched  the  hem  of  Christ's  garment ;  they  have 
realized  something  of  safety  in  Him  from  the  penalty 
of  sin,  but  they  do  not  go  forward.  There  is  spiritual 
sloth,  spiritual  listlessness ;  and  they  do  not  possess 
their  possessions. 

It  is  self-satisfaction  in  other  cases.  They  are  con- 
tent with  imperfect  possession,  and  therefore  imperfect 
enjoyment.  They  are  content  with  a  lower  standard 
of  Christian  living  than  God  intends  them  to  have ; 
and  they  think  that  we  should  heed  that  word :  "  Be 
not  righteous  overmuch."  Spiritual  self-satisfaction  ! 
They  believe  that  we  can  never  accomplish  all  these 
things,  that  we  must  be  content  with  living  for  the 
most  part  in  the  experience  of  Romans  vii.,  and 
only  occasionally  getting  a  glimpse  of  the  glory  of 


44  .  POSSIBILITY 

Romans  viii.  Their  experience  is  something  like 
that  seen  in  a  most  unfortunate  hymn,  one  that 
should  only  be  sung  with  vital  alterations  : 

"  Fighting,  following,  keeping,  struggling, 
Is  He  sure  to  bless?" 

That  is  not  full  Christianity ;  it  comes  from  the 
dark  ages  of  the  Greek  Church,  one  of  the  transla- 
tions of  hymns  that  are  not  completely  Christian, 
We  also  sing : 

"  If  I  find  Him,  if  I  follow, 
What  His  guerdon  here  ? 
Many  a  sorrow,  many  a  labour, 
Many  a  tear." 

But  is  this  all  ?     May  we  not  say : 

"  If  I  find  Him,  if  I  follow, 
What  His  guerdon  here  ? 
Many  a  joy  and  many  a  blessing  — 
Never  a  fear !  " 

The  latter  is  not  worth  much  as  poetry,  but  it  is 
truer  to  the  New  Testament  than  the  original. 

There  is  another  reason  why  we  do  not  possess  our 
possessions,  and  that  is  timidity.  We  are  afraid. 
"  Know  ye  that  Ramoth  in  Gilead  is  ours,  and  we 
be  still  ?  "  That  is  what  many  Christians  are  to-da}- ; 
we  are  still.  We  read  about  the  road  to  victory. 
"  Who  is  he  that  overcometh  ?  "     "  His  command- 


POWER  45 

ments  are  not  grievous."  The  secret  of  victory  is  a 
whole-hearted  surrender  to  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Son 
of  God.  Let  us  see  to  it  that  no  timidity  keeps  us 
from  the  Promised  Land.  It  has  been  pointed 
out  that  when  the  spies  came  back  from  the  visit  to 
Canaan  there  was,  as  some  one  has  said,  a  Majority 
Report,  and  a  Minority  Report;  and  very  often  the 
Minority  Report  is  correct.  The  Majority  Report 
told  them  of  the  wonderful  glories  of  that  land,  but 
also  of  the  enemies  and  their  own  inability.  The 
Minority  Report  was  equallly  clear  about  the  glories 
of  the  land,  and  also  about  the  enemies;  but  they 
also  said :  "  We  be  well  able  to  overcome,"  because 
they  were  thinking  not  of  the  Anakim,  but  of  God. 
We  must  never  allow  timidity  to  rob  us  of  any  part 
of  our  possession  in  the  Promised  Land. 

If  we  look  at  the  rest  of  this  prophecy,  from  verse 
eighteen  to  the  end,  we  shall  find  the  word  "  possess  " 
in  almost  every  verse ;  and  the  one  thought  running 
through  it  is  specially  that  of  verse  eighteen,  "  The 
house  of  Jacob  shall  be  a  fire,"  with  its  assurance  of 
victory.  "  More  than  conquerors  through  Him  that 
loved  us."  God's  purpose  for  every  one  of  us  is  en- 
joyment, the  enjoyment  of  all  those  things  that  are 
ours  in  Christ  Jesus,  enjoyment  not  for  ourselves, 
not  for  anything  in  the  form  of  what  would  be  called 
spiritual  luxury,  but  for  service,  that  we  may  be  able 


46  POSSIBILITY 

through  that  enjoyment  to  pass  on  the  joy  and  the 
blessing  to  others. 

What  is  the  secret,  the  simple,  all-embracing  secret 
of  this  Safety,  Sanctity,  and  Sufficiency  ?  The  an- 
swer is,  Faith.  Why  is  faith  so  emphasized  in  Scrip- 
ture? Because  it  is  the  only  possible  response  to 
God's  revelation.  His  faithfulness  is  to  be  met  by  my 
faith,  His  truth  by  my  trust.  He  is  trustworthy; 
therefore  I  must  be  trustful.  Faith  accepts  all  these 
things  in  Christ ;  faith  claims  them  as  our  own  pos- 
session ;  faith  appropriates  them  to  our  own  personal 
use ;  faith  uses  them  to  the  glory  of  God. 

And  this  will  be  the  result  as  we  endeavour  to 
possess  our  possessions.  The  Christian  life  is  always 
fourfold.  First,  it  is  a  life  of  Inward  Peace,  the  peace 
of  reconciliation,  the  peace  of  restfulness — "  peace 
with  God  "  and  "  the  peace  of  God."  Secondly,  it 
will  be  a  life  of  Upward  Progress,  progress  in  knowl- 
edge and  progress  in  fellowship,  God  becoming  better 
known  and  fellowship  with  God  becoming  more  fully 
realized.  Thirdly,  it  will  be  one  of  Outward  Power, 
in  the  sense  of  victory  over  sin,  power  in  our  equip- 
ment for  service.  Fourthly,  it  will  be  one  of  On- 
ward Prospect,  the  prospect  of  hope,  and  of  its 
realization.  "  That  blessed  hope,  and  the  glorious 
appearing  of  our  great  God  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ," 
will  occupy  its  proper  place  on  the  horizon  of  our 


POWER  47 

Christian  life  if  we  are  Christians  according  to  the 
New  Testament  pattern.  A  truth  that  is  found  so 
often  in  the  New  Testament  must  have  some  real 
meaning,  or  it  would  not  be  so  prominent.  The 
Lord's  coming  is  one  of  the  most  powerful  incentives 
to  holiness.  "  What  manner  of  persons  ought  ye 
to  be  ?  " 

Inward  Peace,  Upward  Progress,  Outward  Power, 
Onward  Prospect.  That  is  Christianity.  And  if 
only  the  Holy  Spirit  enables  us  to  see  and  to  enter 
into  our  possessions  we  shall  live  in  our  homes,  go 
to  our  work,  serve  in  our  church  and  continue  wher- 
ever we  may  be  situated,  full  of  God's  blessing,  full 
of  His  grace,  full  of  His  power,  to  live  henceforth  as 
never  before  to  His  eternal  praise  and  glory. 


Ill 

PRIVILEGE 

THE  first  word  of  the  Psalms,  •♦  Blessed,"  is 
in  some  respects  the  key-note  of  the  whole 
book.  It  occurs  nearly  thirty  times.  But 
the  interesting  point  about  the  Beatitudes  of  the 
Psalter  is  that  they  are  nearly  all  concerned  with  our 
relation  to  God,  and  scarcely  ever  do  circumstances 
enter  into  this  blessedness.  So,  according  to  the 
Psalms,  it  is  not  what  we  have,  or  what  we  know,  or 
what  we  can  do,  but  what  we  are,  that  constitutes 
blessedness. 

One  of  those  numerous  passages  is  found  in  Psalm 
Ixxxix.  15-18,  and  it  shows  that  the  Christian  life  is  a 
life  of  privilege  in  power  and  blessing.  Let  us  re- 
member, even  though  it  needs  constant  repetition,  that 
we  are  to  know  the  things  that  are  freely  given  to  us 
of  God ;  and  as  we  look  at  this  passage,  we  shall 
be  able  to  see  something  at  least  of  what  the  Bible 
means  by  the  Christian  life,  that  life  which  we  are  to 
meditate  upon,  to  understand,  and,  by  the  mercy  of 
God,  to  experience. 

I.  The  first  thing  is  that  it  is  A  Life  of  Perpet- 
48 


PEIVILEGE  49 

UAL  Fellowship.  "  They  walk,  O  Jehovah,  in  the 
light  of  Thy  countenance."  The  countenance  of 
God  is  a  symbol  of  the  Divine  presence.  The  word  is 
literally  "  face  "  ;  and  the  face  of  God  in  Scripture  al- 
ways means  His  presence.  Then  it  also  means  the 
Divine  favour.  "  In  the  light  of  the  king's  counte- 
nance is  life."  The  benediction  that  was  pronounced 
upon  Israel  closed  with,  "  The  Lord  lift  up  His  coun- 
tenance upon  thee."  It  is  said  of  David  in  relation  to 
Absalom  that  "  the  face  of  the  king  was  not  towards 
him  as  aforetime."  Thus  the  idea  of  the  Divine  face 
or  countenance  is  His  presence  and  His  favour. 
And,  of  course,  it  also  implies  Divine  guidance. 
There  is  a  phrase  in  the  Psalm  about  the  servant 
looking  to  the  eyes  of  the  master  (Ps.  cxxiii.  2), 
that  is,  desiring  to  know  what  the  master's  will  is  ; 
and  here  we  have,  "  They  shall  walk,  O  Lord,  in  the 
light  of  Thy  countenance."  Walking  implies  prog- 
ress, and  walking  in  the  light  of  the  Divine  counte- 
nance means  guidance  as  we  take  our  journey  and 
make  progress  through  life. 

Walking  is  one  of  the  illustrations  used  in  the 
Bible  to  express  spiritual  progress.  Almost  every 
part  of  man's  body  is  associated  with  spiritual  things. 
Sometimes  we  are  to  "  look  "  and  be  saved  ;  at  other 
times  we  are  to  "  hear  "  and  our  souls  shall  live  ;  at 
another    time   we    are    to   "  take   hold "    of    God's 


00  POSSIBILITY 

strength ;  at  another  we  are  to  "  taste  and  see."  But 
most  frequent  of  all  is  the  word  "  walk."  In  the 
brief  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  it  occurs  seven  times. 
We  recall  also  the  well-known  text,  i  John  i.  7,  «*  If 
we  walk  in  the  light,  as  He  is  in  the  light."  So  this 
is  the  first  feature  of  the  new  life,  a  life  of  perpetual 
fellowship,  in  the  Divine  presence,  with  the  Divine 
favour,  and  under  the  Divine  guidance. 

At  this  point  it  will  be  well  to  ask  ourselves, 
What  do  we  know  of  this  ?  Is  this  the  experience  of 
our  life  ?  For  this  is  what  the  Bible  intends.  If  the 
Christian  life  is  not  a  life  of  perpetual  fellowship,  it  is 
nothing  at  all.  There  are  two  men  who  are  said  to 
have  walked  with  God,  Enoch  and  Noah.  Many- 
people  think  that  Enoch  had  a  very  delightful  time 
of  it,  full  of  blessed  contemplation.  But  we  are  told 
by  St.  Jude  that  he  had  a  very  severe  experience  in 
testifying  against  ungodliness ;  and,  therefore,  not 
even  Enoch  had  altogether  an  easy  and  quiet  life. 
But  whatever  we  may  think  about  Enoch,  Noah  was 
a  practical  man  of  affairs,  and  for  one  hundred  and 
twenty  years  he  preached  the  Gospel  of  righteous- 
ness without  getting  a  single  convert,  though  all  the 
while  he  was  walking  with  God.  This  is  the  life  in- 
tended for  us,  the  life  of  perpetual  fellowship. 

II.  The  Christian  life  is  A  Life  of  Unchanging 
Joy.     "  In  Thy  name  do  they  rejoice  all  the  day." 


PRIVILEGE  51 

We  must  not  forget,  though  it  is  often  repeated  in 
our  ears,  that  there  is  a  vast  difference  between  joy 
and  happiness.  Happiness  depends  upon  what  hap- 
pens,  upon  circumstances,  the  "  hap  "  of  Hfe.  Joy  is 
independent  of  circumstances,  and  is  connected  with 
our  relationship  to  God.  Happiness  is  very  much 
hke  the  surface  of  the  sea,  sometimes  turbulent,  at 
other  times  calm  ;  joy  is  like  the  bed  of  the  ocean, 
which  is  untouched  by  anything  on  the  surface.  Joy, 
referring  to  our  relationship  to  God,  is  threefold. 
There  is  the  joy  of  retrospect,  as  we  look  back  at  the 
past ;  there  is  the  joy  of  aspect,  as  we  look  around  on 
the  present ;  there  is  the  joy  of  prospect,  as  we  look 
forward  to  the  future.  There  is  the  joy  of  memory, 
the  joy  of  love,  and  the  joy  of  hope.  There  is  the 
joy  of  the  peaceful  conscience,  the  joy  of  the  grateful 
heart,  the  joy  of  the  teachable  mind,  the  joy  of 
the  trustful  soul,  the  joy  of  the  adoring  spirit,  the 
joy  of  the  obedient  Ufe,  and  the  joy  of  the  glowing 
hope. 

"  In  Thy  name  do  they  rejoice."  That  is  where 
we  get  our  joy — "  In  Thy  name,"  in  the  revelation  of 
God.  The  name  of  God  is  all  that  is  known  of  Him. 
Wherever  the  word  "  name  "  occurs  it  never  means 
a  mere  title  or  epithet,  but  a  character,  the  revealed 
character  of  God ;  and  in  proportion  as  we  get  to 
know  this  "  name  "  and  what  it  means  in  all  its  full- 


52  POSSIBILITY 

ness,  we  shall  have  joy,  which  will  thus  depend,  not 
upon  ourselves,  but  upon  God. 

"  In  Thy  name  shall  they  rejoice  all  the  day,"  i.  e., 
under  all  circumstances.  That  is  what  St.  Paul 
meant  when  he  said,  "  Rejoice  in  the  Lord  alway." 
He  did  not  say,  "  Be  happy  in  the  Lord  always." 
He  knew  very  well  it  was  impossible.  We  cannot 
be  happy  always.  If  we  have  anything  troublesome 
in  our  circumstances,  if  we  have  any  bodily  pain,  if 
we  have  any  mental  or  social  anxiety,  we  cannot 
possibly  be  happy.  The  Apostle  Paul  was  not  very 
happy  when  he  called  himself  sorrowful,  but  he  said, 
"  Sorrowful  yet  alway  rejoicing."  While  we  cannot 
be  happy  always,  we  can  rejoice  always,  because  we 
rejoice  in  the  Lord  always.  Our  joy  is  independent 
of  happiness,  of  what  happens  ;  it  is  associated  with 
God. 

This,  too,  is  a  need  of  the  Christian  life,  one 
which  ought  to  be  considered  again  and  again,  the 
need  of  unchanging  joy.  If  in  our  daily  Hfe  we  do 
not  realize  what  this  means,  we  are  lacking  in  one 
of  the  essential  features  of  Bible  Christianity. 

III.  The  Christian  life  is  A  Life  of  Perfect 
Righteousness.  "  And  in  Thy  righteousness  are 
they  exalted."  What  do  we  mean  by  righteousness  ? 
We  might  put  it  in  this  way,  and  say  it  means  right- 
ness,  the  state  and  condition  of  being  right  with  God 


PRIVILEGE  63 

In  some  respects  righteousness  is  one  of  the  greatest 
words  in  the  Bible.  We  find  it  very  frequently  in 
that  large  section,  Isaiah  xl.  to  xlvi.  But  righteous- 
ness is  the  great  message  of  the  Apostle  Paul.  We 
sometimes  think  that  the  essence  of  the  Gospel  is  the 
mercy  of  God,  or  the  love  of  God.  St.  Paul  did  not 
think  so.  He  said,  "  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  Gospel 
of  Christ  ...  for  therein  is  the  righteousness 
of  God  revealed"  (Rom.  i.  i6,  17).  It  was  because 
Paul  felt  that  righteousness,  even  more  than  mercy, 
was  necessary,  that  he  emphasized  it  as  the  key-note 
of  his  Gospel,  the  truth  of  righteousness,  the  state  of 
being  right  with  God. 

The  whole  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  is  built 
up  in  a  seven-fold  way  on  this  thought  of  righteous- 
ness :  Righteousness  Required,  chapters  i.  and  ii. ; 
Righteousness  Revealed,  chapter  iii. ;  Righteousness 
Reckoned,  chapter  iv.  ;  Righteousness  Received, 
chapter  v. ;  Righteousness  Realized,  chapters  vi.-viii. ; 
Righteousness  Rejected,  chapters  ix.-xi. ;  Righteous- 
ness Reproduced,  chapters  xii.-xvi.  The  entire 
teaching  from  beginning  to  end  is  righteousness,  and 
this  is  the  meaning  of  the  Christian  life — a  life  of 
perfect  righteousness. 

"  In  Thy  righteousness."  That  is  the  sphere  and 
the  atmosphere  of  true  living.  "  In  Thy  righteous- 
ness."    It  means  that  wc  are  to  be  surrounded  by 


54  POSSIBILITY 

that  righteousness,  covered  by  it,  protected  by  it.  If 
that  is  not  true  of  us  now,  then  there  will  be  no 
blessing  until  it  is  settled.  •'  In  Thy  righteousness." 
Do  we  know  what  God's  righteousness  is  ?  We  have 
no  concern  with  His  holiness  until  we  have  received 
His  righteousness,  for  it  is  only  when  we  possess  this 
that  holiness  becomes  possible.  There  are  those  who 
wish  to  know  the  best  way  of  living  the  holy  life. 
But  perhaps  they  have  never  made  sure  of  this 
question  of  righteousness.  This  is  the  primary 
necessity.  "  In  Thy  righteousness  are  they  ex- 
alted." Exalted  above  our  foes,  exalted  above  our 
fears,  exalted  above  our  failures. 

What  do  we  know  of  God's  righteousness  ?  I  was 
taking  a  walk  some  years  ago  with  a  beloved  friend,  a 
well-known  clergyman,  and  as  we  passed  a  particular 
house  he  pointed  to  it,  and  said,  "  I  never  pass  that 
house  without  calling  to  mind  this  incident.  I  was 
summoned  to  see  a  lady,  an  entire  stranger  to  me, 
and,  indeed,  to  this  town,  who  was  thought  to  be 
dying.  I  went  in,  and  I  very  soon  saw  that  she 
could  not  live  long.  After  a  few  words  of  personal 
interest  and  sympathy  I  said  to  her, '  Now,  it  may  not 
be  God's  will  that  you  should  recover.  May  I  ask 
how  you  regard  the  future  ?  ' "  Said  my  friend, 
"  She  opened  her  eyes  wide,  and  fixed  them  on  me, 
and    said,  *  Not    having    mine  own  righteousness, 


PRIVILEGB  05 

which  is  of  the  law,  but  the  righteousness  which  is 
through  faith  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  righteousness  which 
is  of  God  through  faith.' "  And  my  friend  added, 
"  That  was  all  she  said,  and  it  was  quite  sufficient." 
In  the  same  way  now,  not  for  death,  but  for  life,  this 
is  the  secret,  ••  Not  having  mine  own  righteousness, 
which  is  of  the  law,  but  the  righteousness  which  is 
through  faith  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  righteousness  which 
is  of  God  through  faith."  This  is  the  thought  here. 
"  In  Thy  righteousness  are  they  exalted."  And  day 
by  day  and  hour  by  hour,  if  this  is  settled,  we  are 
able  to  sing,  and  able  to  mean  what  we  say  when  we 
sing : 

"  Jesus,  Thy  blood  and  righteousness 
My  beauty  are,  ray  glorious  dress ; 
'Midst  flaming  worlds  in  these  arrayed, 
With  joy  shall  I  Hft  up  my  head." 

IV.  The  Christian  Ufe  is  A  Life  of  Complete 
Protection,  "  For  Thou  art  the  glory  of  their 
strength."  Strength  is  one  of  the  great  needs  of 
the  Christian,  and  it  is  associated  with  righteousness. 
In  more  than  one  passage  in  Isaiah  we  find  both : 
"  In  the  Lord  have  I  righteousness  and  strength." 
Strength  follows  righteousness  here  because  it  refers 
to  the  next  great  need  of  the  Christian  hfe,  strength 
for  daily  living.  There  is  an  old  Latin  phrase  which 
we  might  almost  put  into  very  literal  English  when 


66  POSSIBILITY 

wc  speak  of  the  need  of  power  to  "  resist,"  to  '*  insist," 
and  to  "  persist  " — power  for  everything  in  the  Chris- 
tian Hfe.  The  secret  of  it  is,  "  Thou  art  the  glory  of 
their  strength."  Not  self,  not  circumstances,  but 
God  is  our  strength.  "  In  the  Lord  have  I  strength." 
"  Thou  art  the  glory  of  their  strength."  His  presence 
is  salvation. 

Both  in  the  Old  Testament  and  in  the  New  the 
word  "  glory  "  or  "  boast  "  is  utilized  for  right  and 
true  and  pure  ideas  and  ideals.  If  there  is  one  per- 
son who  is  more  contemptible  than  another,  it  is  a 
man  or  woman  who  boasts.  Whenever  we  find  a 
man  boasting  we  always  feel  that  he  is  one  of  the 
most  deplorable  and  contemptible  specimens  of 
humanity.  We  know  what  Uriah  Heep  means,  not 
only  in  the  pages  of  Dickens,  but  everywhere  else, 
the  man  who  is  always  "  very  'umble."  Caroline 
Fry  has  a  fine  definition  of  humility :  *'  Unconscious 
self-forgetfulness."  The  self-forgetfulness  that  is 
conscious  is,  of  course,  the  most  acute,  intense  and 
subtle  form  of  pride ;  and  yet  here  and  in  the  New 
Testament  this  very  word  "  boast  "  in  the  original, 
although  rendered  often  "  glory,"  is  taken  over  and 
transformed,  and  we  are  enabled  to  boast  in  a  great 
number  of  things.  "  God  forbid  that  I  should  boast, 
save  in  the  Cross."  "We  boast  in  tribulation." 
"  We  boast  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God."     •'  And 


PEIVILEGE  57 

not  only  so,  we  boast  in  God."  We  can  glory  as 
much  as  we  like  so  long  as  we  glory  in  Him  and  not 
in  ourselves. 

And  in  this  connection  let  us  emphasize  the  word 
"  complete,"  because  it  is  intended  to  mean  what  it 
says.  At  all  times,  under  all  circumstances,  God's 
grace  is  sufficient  for  us.  "  Behold,  I  give  you 
power  .  .  .  over  all  the  power  of  the  enemy; 
and  nothing  shall  by  any  means  hurt  you." 

V.  The  Christian  life  is  A  Life  of  Assured  Vic- 
tory. "  And  in  Thy  favour  our  horn  shall  be  ex- 
alted." The  "  horn  "  in  the  Old  Testament  is  the 
symbol  of  conquest,  of  victory.  Wherever  the  word 
occurs  it  is  associated  with  complete  victory.  When 
it  says  here,  "  In  Thy  favour  our  horn  shall  be  ex- 
alted," of  course  it  means  that  in  union  and  com- 
munion with  God  there  is  assured  victory,  as  well  as 
complete  protection.  It  may  be  questioned  whether 
we  have  ever  sounded  the  depth,  or  rather  scaled  the 
height,  of  St.  Paul's  word,  where,  in  Romans  viii., 
he  speaks  of  us  as  '•  more  than  conquerors."  One  of 
the  French  versions  is,  "  les  vainqueurs  et  au  dela  " — 
"  conquerors,  and  beyond  that."  Yes,  but  what  is 
the  •'  beyond  that "  ?  It  is  "  super-conquerors  " ;  not 
merely  the  bare  victory,  not  merely  that  which  just 
manages  to  get  home,  but  that  which  gives  us  a  per- 
fect and  abundant  conquest  over  the  enemy. 


58  POSSIBILITY 

A  Christian  man,  in  his  humility,  once  said  on  his 
death-bed  that  he  would  be  thankful  if  he  just  crept 
into  heaven  on  his  hands  and  knees.  We  fully  ap- 
preciate the  spirit  in  which  he  said  those  words ;  and 
yet  God  does  not  expect  us,  or  desire  us,  or  intend 
us  to  creep  into  heaven  on  our  hands  and  knees,  for 
has  He  not  spoken  of  the  '•  abundant  entrance  into 
the  everlasting  kingdom  "  ?  And  this  is  the  thought 
here,  "  conquerors  and  more  than  that,"  super-con- 
querors ;  victory  and  more  than  victory  assured  in 
the  favour  of  God. 

VI.  The  Christian  life  is  A  Life  of  Absolute 
Guarantee.  The  Authorized  Version  says,  "  For 
the  Lord  is  our  defence;  and  the  Holy  One  of 
Israel  is  our  King."  That  is  perfectly  true,  but  it 
is  the  truth  of  verse  seventeen,  and  therefore  it  is 
best  to  read  with  the  Revised  Version,  "  Our  shield 
belongeth  unto  Jehovah,  and  our  King  to  the  Holy 
One  of  Israel."  Who  is  our  Shield  ?  The  Messiah. 
Who  is  our  King?  The  Messiah.  Who  is  Je- 
hovah? The  Holy  One  of  Israel.  Therefore  it 
says  that  Christ,  our  Messiah,  our  Shield,  our  King, 
belongs  to  God.  That  is  the  meaning  of  St.  Paul's 
words,  "  Christ  is  God's." 

This  introduces  us  to  one  of  the  profoundest  and 
yet  one  of  the  simplest  truths  of  the  Bible,  the  cove- 
nant between  the  Father  and  the  Son  on  our  behalf. 


PRIVILEGE  50 

If  wc  read  very  carefully  Hebrews  viii.,  we  shall  see 
that  the  New  Covenant  is  not  between  God  and  us ; 
it  is  between  the  Father  and  the  Son.  Again  and 
again  there  is  this  wonderful  thought  of  a  solemn 
covenant  and  agreement  between  God  and  Christ. 
We  must,  of  course,  use  human  language  to  express 
it,  but  the  idea  is  of  a  definite  covenant  on  our  behalf. 
It  was  this,  no  doubt,  that  the  Psalmist  regarded  as 
the  culminating  point  of  the  behever's  life.  "  Our 
Shield  belongeth  unto  Jehovah,  and  our  King  to  the 
Holy  One  of  Israel."  So  St.  Paul  is  not  only  able 
to  say  what  I  have  just  quoted,  but  he  says,  "All 
things  are  yours,  and  ye  are  Christ's,  and  Christ  is 
God's."  That  also  is  the  meaning  of  such  a  passage 
as  John  x.  28,  29,  "  I  give  unto  My  sheep  eternal 
life;  and  they  shall  never  perish,  neither  shall  any 
pluck  them  out  of  My  hand.  My  Father,  which 
gave  them  Me,  is  greater  than  all ;  and  none  is  able 
to  pluck  them  out  of  My  Father's  hand."  It  is  well 
known  that  philosophy  and  evolution,  and  indeed 
the  general  trend  of  modern  thought,  have  during 
the  past  fifty  years  emphasized  the  human  side  of 
things.  Perhaps  that  was  the  necessary  and  inevi- 
table rebound  from  an  overemphasis  of  the  Divine 
side  fifty  years  before.  Be  that  as  it  may,  we  must 
never  forget  that  there  is  a  Divine  side  as  well  as  a 
human   side.     Never  let  us  overlook  the  fact  that 


60  POSSIBILITY 

God  keeps  us,  and  this  is  prior  to  our  keeping  our- 
selves. An  Irish  boy  was  once  asked  whether  he 
did  not  sometimes  feel  afraid.  He  replied,  "  I  often 
trimble  on  the  rock,  but  the  rock  never  trimbles 
under  me."  *•  I  hold,"  says  the  motto ;  but  there  is 
another  side  to  it — "  and  I  am  held."  It  is  a  great 
thing  to  hold  God  by  faith ;  it  is  a  much  greater 
thing  for  God  to  hold  us  with  a  grasp  that  never 
tires,  "  Fear  thou  not ;  for  I  am  with  thee :  be  not 
dismayed,  for  I  am  thy  God :  I  will  strengthen  thee ; 
yea,  I  will  help  thee ;  yea,  I  will  uphold  thee  with 
the  right  hand  of  My  righteousness  "  (Isa.  xli.  lo). 

"  Let  me  no  more  my  comfort  draw 
From  my  frail  hold  of  Thee ; 
In  this  alone  rejoice  with  awe, 
Thy  mighty  grasp  of  me." 

This  idea  of  the  covenant  has  almost  entirely  fallen 
out  of  modern  theology  and  modern  writing,  and  we 
must  get  back  to  it  as  the  bed-rock  of  everything. 
There  was  a  woman  in  Scotland  on  her  death-bed, 
waiting  for  the  end,  after  forty  years  of  Christian 
life  and  service.  She  was  deeply  taught  of  God. 
Her  friends  felt  they  could  say  pretty  much  what 
they  liked  to  her ;  so  one  of  them  remarked,  "  Well, 
you  have  been  a  Christian  forty  years ;  suppose  the 
Lord  were  to  let  you  go  ?  "  "  Ah,"  she  said,  "  He 
would  lose  more  than  I  should."     She  meant  that 


PEIVILEGE  61 

He  would  lose  His  character.  God  has  pledged 
Himself  in  covenant  with  Christ  on  behalf  of  His 
people.  If  you  read  the  great,  the  real  Lord's 
Prayer,  not  the  disciples'  prayer  which  we  call  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  but  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  John  xvii., 
you  will  find  a  reference  to  the  covenant  between 
God  and  Christ  on  behalf  of  those  who  were  given 
to  the  Son  by  the  Father,  and  concerning  whom, 
with  one  exception,  the  Lord  said,  "  I  have  lost 
none."  This  is  what  I  mean  by  the  absolute  guar- 
antee. It  will  be  worth  while  if  we  can  get  down  to 
this  basis  and  realize,  apart  from  all  our  feelings 
and  circumstances  and  problems  and  doubts  and 
needs,  "  I  am  the  Lord ;  I  change  not."  "  The  foun- 
dation of  the  Lord  standeth  sure,  having  this  seal, 
The  Lord  knoweth  them  that  are  His.  And,  Let 
every  one  that  nameth  the  name  of  Christ  depart 
from  iniquity." 

VII.  The  Christian  life  is  A  Life  of  Personal 
Relationship.  "  Blessed  is  the  people  that  know 
the  joyful  sound."  The  "joyful  sound"  had  refer- 
ence to  two  things  in  the  Jewish  religion.  It  was 
associated,  first  of  all,  with  the  trumpet  on  the  day 
of  Jubilee.  Every  fifty  years  the  trumpet  of  Jubilee 
sounded,  and  that  meant  deliverance.  And  this, 
translated  into  the  New  Testament,  means  the  Gos- 
pel.    "  Blessed  is  the  people  that  know  the  joyful 


62  POSSIBILITY 

sound,"  the  sound  of  deliverance,  the  note  of  the 
Gospel.  St.  Paul  says  of  the  people  of  Thessalonica, 
"  From  you  sounded  out  the  word  of  the  Lord." 
They  had  received  it,  and  they  were  sounding  out 
that  trumpet  of  Jubilee,  of  deliverance.  Here  again 
we  are  at  the  beginning  of  things.  Do  we  know 
this  ?  Do  we  know  the  "joyful  sound  "  of  deliver- 
ance? Do  we  know  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  our 
Saviour?  Has  He  come  to  us  with  His  Jubilee  of 
deliverance,  deliverance  from  the  guilt  of  sin,  deliv- 
erance from  the  penalty  of  sin,  deliverance  from  the 
bondage  of  sin,  and  deliverance  hereafter  from  the 
very  presence  of  sin?  DeHverance  is  the  great 
thought  of  the  "joyful  sound." 

But  it  means  more  than  this.  Trumpets  were  used 
oftener  than  every  fifty  years ;  they  were  employed 
from  time  to  time  to  summon  people  to  worship. 
If  we  look  at  the  Book  of  Numbers,  we  find  reference 
to  the  silver  trumpets  the  priests  used  on  special 
occasions.  According  to  some  authorities,  we  might 
render  the  passage,  "  Blessed  is  the  people  that  know 
the  festal  shout,"  i.  e.,  the  shout  associated  with 
worship.  After  deliverance  comes  worship.  After 
the  altar  outside  comes  the  tabernacle  inside,  and  so 
the  "joyful  sound"  first  means  salvation  and  then 
worship. 

It  is  for  us  to  face  this  question :  Is  this  a  personal 


PRIVILEGE  63 

experience  ?  Do  we  know  the  "  joyful  sound  "  ?  Do 
we  know  what  deliverance  means  ?  Do  we  know 
what  worship  means?  Do  we  know  what  it  is  to 
have  this  opportunity  of  spiritual  worship  with  our 
Father  in  heaven  ?     If  so,  "  Blessed  is  the  people." 

So  we  come  back  to  the  note  with  which  we 
started  :  "  Blessed."  It  has  been  well  pointed  out 
that  festivals  of  gladness  are  based  on  religious  facts. 
It  is  worth  while  remembering  that  Rationalism  has 
never  been  successful  in  originating  anything  glad 
or  joyful.  It  would  be  interesting  for  our  mission- 
ary brethren  and  sisters  to  tell  us  how  many  hymn- 
books  they  have  found  in  connection  with  heathen 
religions.  Heathenism  knows  nothing  about  hymn- 
books,  or  joy,  or  gladness.  Joy  is  the  essential  of 
belief,  and  so  we  may  put  it  almost  in  the  words  of  a 
modern  writer,  "  Where  there  is  faith,  there  is  glad- 
ness." "  Blessed  is  the  people  that  know  the  joyful 
sound."  The  greatest  day  of  joy  in  the  present  age 
is  that  which  is  at  once  a  holiday  and  a  holy  day, 
the  birthday  of  Jesus  Christ.  "  I  bring  you  good 
tidings  of  great  joy."  I  heard  once  of  a  clergyman 
who  looked  on  the  dark  side  of  things.  I  do  not 
quite  wonder  at  it,  because  he  had  spent  a  noble  life 
as  a  missionary,  and  had  got  a  severe  touch  of  liver. 
His  people  used  to  say  that  this  good  man  never 
gave  them  anything  bright  or  joyful.     All  his  ser- 


64  POSSIBILITY 

mons  were  associated  with  gloom,  until  one  Christ- 
mas Day  he  announced  as  his  text,  ♦•  Behold  I  bring 
you  good  tidings  of  great  joy."  The  people  said, 
•*  Now  we  are  going  to  have  a  change  !  "  But  the 
main  substance  of  the  sermon  was  a  description  of 
the  blackness  of  the  time  when  Jesus  Christ  was  born. 
That  was  all  he  could  do !  "  Blessed  is  the  people 
that  know  the  festal  shout " — that  joy  which  is  the 
key-note  of  ah  Christian  life. 

So  let  each  one  ask  himself  this :  Do  I  know  it  ? 
Some  know  it  by  hearsay ;  others  have  read  of  it  in 
the  Bible ;  but  the  word  "  know  "  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment and  the  New  always  means  personal  experience. 
"  Blessed  is  the  people  that  know."  Perhaps  some 
one  says,  "  I  do  not  know."  Well,  there  is  only  one 
reason  why  we  do  not,  there  is  only  one  reason  why 
we  cannot  know.  We  find  it  in  Psalm  xc.  8  :  "  Thou 
hast  set  our  iniquities  before  Thee,  our  secret  sins 
in  the  light  of  Thy  countenance."  It  is  because 
there  is  some  sin  between  God's  face  and  ours  that 
prevents  us  from  knowing  the  joyful  sound.  And 
so  we  have  need  to  sing,  and  to  pray  : 

"  Oh  !  may  no  earth-born  cloud  arise 
To  hide  Thee  from  Thy  servant's  eyes." 

If  there  is  any  sin  unconfessed  and  unforgiven,  this 
and  this  only  is  the  explanation  why  we  do  not  know 


PEIVILEGE  66 

the  "  joyful  sound."  But  if  we  are  willing  to  have 
that  sin  removed  and  blotted  out,  so  that  in  the 
King's  countenance  there  will  be  life  and  favour, 
from  this  time  forward  we  shall  know  the  "joyful 
sound,"  and  know  it  increasingly  in  our  experience. 
It  means  this,  that  now  and  all  through  life  there  will 
be  the  test,  there  will  be  the  trust,  and  there  will  be 
the  taste.  We  shall  test  these  things,  and  God  will 
welcome  us  in  fellowship  with  Himself.  We  shall 
trust  Him,  and  in  that  trust  will  come  the  removal 
of  all  the  clouds  and  all  the  difficulties.  And  then, 
all  through  hfe  there  will  be  the  taste,  •'  O  taste 
and  see  that  the  Lord  is  good :  blessed  is  the  man 
that  trusteth  in  Him." 


IV 

SATISFACTION 

THE  Apostle  Paul  desired  that  those  to 
whom  he  wrote  might  know  the  things 
that  were  freely  given  to  them  of  God. 
In  his  prayers  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  we 
have,  perhaps,  the  highest  revelation  of  his  concep- 
tion of  the  Christian  life.  He  prayed  in  the  first  of 
the  two  prayers  that  believers  might  have  a  spiritual 
illumination,  that  the  eyes  of  their  heart  might  be 
opened  to  see  the  wealth  of  grace  stored  up  for  them 
in  Christ  and  made  available  for  them.  Now  the 
prophet  Jeremiah,  foretelling  something  of  the  great 
future,  is  concerned  with  a  similar  subject,  the  pos- 
sibilities and  realities  of  a  Divine  life  in  a  personal 
experience.  He  utters  a  magnificent  promise  and 
assurance :  "  My  people  shall  be  satisfied  with  My 
goodness  "  (xxxi.  14).  Although,  of  course,  we  know 
that  this  whole  section  has  its  primary  and  still  future 
interpretation  in  regard  to  God's  people  Israel,  there 
is  no  reason,  as  we  have  already  seen,  why  we  may 
not  look  at  the  words  in  a  secondary,  spiritual  ap- 
plication, and  think  of  them  as  intended  for  us. 
The  Christian  life  surely  means  this,  if  it  means 
66 


SATISFACTION  «7 

nothing  else,  that  we  may  be  led  to  understand  as 
much  as  possible  of  those  things  that  are  provided 
for  us  of  God ;  and  many  a  passage,  as,  for  ex- 
ample, the  outburst  of  praise  from  the  lips  of  the 
Apostle  Peter  (i  Pet.  i.),  is  altogether  concerned  with 
those  wonderful  realities  of  grace  that  have  been 
brought  near  to  us  in  Christ  Jesus. 

So  it  will  be  well  to  strike  this  note  of  encourage- 
ment, and  to  give  this  word  of  promise  to  every 
believer,  "  My  people  shall  be  satisfied  with  My 
goodness."  We  will  look  at  the  Divine  side  of  the 
Christian  life,  at  the  provision  which  God  has  made 
for  us,  in  order  that  we  may  realize  afresh,  and  by 
His  grace  enter  into  the  life  that  He  desires  us  to  live. 

I.  First  of  all,  we  notice  the  Divine  Splendour — 
"  My  goodness."  This  is  God's  character,  than  which 
there  is  nothing  higher.  "  My  people  shall  be  satis- 
fied with  My  goodness  " — not  greatness,  but  good- 
ness ;  not  glory,  but  goodness ;  not  grandeur,  but 
goodness.  This  goodness  of  God  is  seen  in  Nature. 
"  The  goodness  of  God  endureth  yet  daily,"  says  the 
Psalmist.  "  The  earth  is  full  of  the  goodness  of  the 
Lord."  "  Thou  crownest  the  year  with  Thy  good- 
ness." But  still  more,  the  goodness  of  God  is  seen 
in  revelation  :  "  I  will  make  all  My  goodness  pass 
before  thee."  "  The  Lord  God  .  .  .  abundant 
in   goodness."     "  They  shall   be   satisfied   with   the 


68  POSSIBILITY 

goodness  of  Thy  house."  "  The  goodness  of  God 
leadeth  thee  to  repentance." 

This  Divine  character  of  goodness  is  intended  to 
be  ours,  for  "  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  .  .  . 
goodness."  It  is  said  of  Barnabas  that  "  he  was  a 
good  man."  This  is  in  the  past  tense,  and  reads  as 
though  he  were  dead  at  the  time,  but  whether  it  is 
intended  as  an  epitaph  or  not,  it  expresses  his  char- 
acter, than  which  there  is  nothing  finer.  **  He  was 
a  good  man."  People  often  discuss  their  clergy  and 
talk  very  freely  of  them.  They  say,  "  Yes,  when  he 
comes  to  see  me  he  hasn't  much  to  say,  but  then,  he 
is  such  a  good  man ! "  "  When  we  go  to  church 
he's  somewhat  dull  in  the  pulpit,  but  then,  he  is  such 
a  good  man  !  "  Well,  while  we  are  sorry  for  all  un- 
interesting people  in  the  pulpit,  and  also  sorry  for 
the  man  who  has  not  much  conversational  power  in 
pastoral  visitation,  yet  if  it  can  be  said  of  a  clergy- 
man that  he  is  a  good  man,  we  may  well  thank  God 
that  it  is  so,  for  we  have  the  finest  treasure  in  this 
world  in  goodness.  We  can  understand,  therefore,  the 
emphasis  laid  by  the  New  Testament  on  good  works, 
because  good  works  are  the  outcome  of  goodness. 

There  are  two  words  rendered  "  good  "  in  the  New 
Testament  and  applied  to  works.  The  one  means 
that  which  is  inwardly  and  intrinsically  good;  the 
other  means  that  which  is  outwardly  beautiful,  and 


SATISFACTION  69 

for  the  most  part,  in  the  Pastoral  Epistles,  the  phrase 
translated  "  good  works  "  might  be  rendered  "  beau- 
tiful works."  There  is  a  similar  distinction  between 
the  righteous  man  and  the  good  man  in  Romans  v., 
and  our  works  are  intended  to  be  at  once  ethical  and 
beautiful.  The  two  words  are  often  associated  with 
God  Himself.  God  is,  of  course,  essential  goodness, 
but  it  is  helpful  sometimes  to  remember  that  our 
Lord  said,  "  I  am  the  Beautiful  Shepherd,"  the  Shep- 
herd who  is  outwardly  attractive  as  well  as  inwardly 
good. 

It  is  just  here  where  our  goodness  often  fails — it  is 
not  beautiful.  Yet  if  our  goodness  is  not  at  once 
ethical  and  beautiful  it  fails  at  a  crucial  point.  There 
is  a  story  that  when  some  one  said  of  another,  "  She 
is  the  salt  of  the  earth,"  the  reply  was,  •'  Salt  ? 
Why,  she  is  mustard  and  pepper  and  the  whole 
cruet !  "  Yes,  that  is  the  sad  meaning  of  unlovely 
goodness. 

We  often  emphasize  particular  virtues  to  the  detri- 
ment of  other  virtues.  There  arc  some  who  emphasize 
thrift,  and  sacrifice  everything  to  economy.  There 
are  others  who  emphasize  generosity,  and  do  not 
pay  their  debts  !  There  are  yet  others  who  emphasize 
humility,  and  have  not  an  atom  of  force  in  their 
character.  There  are  still  others  who  emphasize 
individuality,  and  are  very  much  put  out  if  they  do 


70  POSSIBILITY 

not  get  the  chief  places  in  the  synagogues.  We 
emphasize  one  virtue  at  the  expense  of  another. 
There  are  men  who  pride  themselves  on  their 
candour,  and  it  degenerates  into  brutality.  One  of 
such  men  said  to  John  Wesley  once,  "  Mr.  Wesley,  I 
pride  myself  on  speaking  my  mind ;  that  is  my 
talent."  "  Well,"  said  John  Wesley,  "  the  Lord 
wouldn't  mind  if  you  buried  that !  " 

We  need  that  characteristic  of  Christian  ethics 
which  is  only  found  in  Christianity,  that  indefinable 
something  which  is  called  Christlikeness.  It  is  the 
one  quality  in  Christianity  which  marks  off  the  ethic 
of  the  Gospel  from  every  other  ethic  in  the  world, 
the  combination  of  strength  and  sympathy,  the  blend 
of  tenderness  and  force,  the  association  of  righteous- 
ness and  love.  There  is  nothing  higher  than  this — 
beautiful  goodness.  It  is  something  for  us  to  be  able 
to  know  ;  it  is  something  to  be  able  to  do ;  but  it  is 
infinitely  more  to  be.  Wisdom  in  God  is  great ; 
power,  perhaps,  is  greater,  but  goodness  is  greatest 
of  all.  In  the  definition  of  the  Deity  in  the  first 
Article  of  the  Church  of  England,  He  is  described  as 
"  infinite  in  wisdom,  power  and  goodness."  And 
now  abide  these  three,  wisdom,  power,  goodness  ;  but 
the  greatest  of  these  is  goodness. 

II.  When  we  look  at  the  passage  again,  we  ob- 
serve the  Divine  Standard.     "  My  people  shall  be 


SATISFACTION  71 

satisfied,"  and  the  word  "  satisfied  "  at  once  compels 
us  to  think.  Satisfaction ;  is  this  possible ;  is  this  true ; 
is  this  God's  will  ?  The  ordinary  view  of  the  Christian 
life  is  for  us  to  have  enough,  but  with  no  thought  of 
absolute  and  complete  satisfaction.  The  worldling  is 
quite  content  with  his  ease  ;  the  Pharisee  is  thankful 
that  he  is  not  as  other  men  ;  the  Stoic  is  indifferent  to 
all  these  things  ;  the  selfish  man  pays  no  regard  to 
others;  while  the  conventional  believer  is  quite  con- 
tent with  his  low  standard  of  morality.  The  trouble 
is  that  we  are  content  with  so  httle. 

In  one  of  the  Anghcan  Collects  for  Good  Friday 
we  read  that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  "  was  contented 
to  be  betrayed."  The  word  has  changed  its  mean- 
ing. When  nowadays  I  say  "  I  am  content,"  I  mean 
that  I  am  barely  ready,  or  I  am  just  ready.  I  cannot 
very  well  avoid  it,  but  I  will  put  up  with  the  difficulty. 
"  I  am  content."  But  in  the  old  English  the  word 
"  content  "  meant  "  contained."  "  He  was  contained 
(/.  e..  He  was  full  of  readiness)  to  be  betrayed."  The 
same  old  English  word  is  found  in  the  Prayer  Book 
Version  of  Psalm  xl.,  "  Lo  I  come  to  do  Thy  will : 
yea,  I  am  content  to  do  it,"  that  is,  "  I  am  contained 
by  it."  The  will  of  God  filled  up  the  whole  of  our 
Lord's  life,  and  the  Master  was  "  contained  "  by  His 
desire  to  do  the  will  of  God.  That  is  the  meaning 
here ;  and  the  right  view  of  Christian  privilege  is  not 


72  POSSIBILITY 

merely  bread  enough,  but  "  bread  enough  and  to 
spare."  As  Scripture  promises,  "  I  will  satiate  the 
soul  of  the  priests." 

Some  may  not  have  noticed  the  figures  of  speech 
used  in  the  Bible  to  express  this  spiritual  satisfaction. 
Think  of  the  river  in  this  connection, '.'  Peace  as  a 
river."  "  Drink  of  the  river  of  Thy  plccisures." 
♦'  Out  of  Him  shall  flow  rivers  of  living  water."  Re- 
member the  symbol  in  Ezekiel  of  the  waters  to  the 
ankles,  then  to  the  knees,  then  to  the  loins,  and  then 
to  swim  in.  Notice  St.  Paul's  three  metaphors,  with 
his  nouns  and  adjectives,  "  full,"  "  abundant,"  "  rich  " 
— the  fullness,  the  abundance,  and  the  wealth  of 
God's  grace.  This  is  the  standard.  God  can  satisfy 
and  God  does  satisfy  our  life.  He  satisfies  the  past 
with  forgiveness,  the  present  with  grace,  and  the 
future  with  glory.  He  satisfies  the  past  with  justifi- 
cation, the  present  with  sanctification  and  the  future 
with  glorification.  He  satisfies  the  past  with  pardon, 
the  present  with  power  and  the  future  with  peace. 
So  we  have,  in  the  familiar  phrase,  "  Safety,  Cer- 
tainty, and  Enjoyment."  Let  us  mark  it  as  it  ap- 
pears in  the  Word  of  God,  especially  in  the  Psalms. 
Bible  students  should  notice  the  word  "  satisfied  "  as 
it  is  found  in  the  Psalter.  One  or  two  of  these  will 
enable  us  to  see  the  force  of  what  God  intends  for  us 
here  and  now.    '*  My  soul  shall  be  satisfied  as  with 


SATISFACTION  73 

marrow  and  fatness."  "  Satisfied  with  the  goodness 
of  Thy  house."  "  With  honey  out  of  the  rock  would 
I  have  satisfied  thee."  •'  The  meek  shall  eat  and  be 
satisfied."  "  O  satisfy  us  with  Thy  mercy."  "  In 
the  days  of  famine  they  shall  be  satisfied."  "  Who 
satisfieth  thy  mouth  with  good  things."  "  I  shall  be 
satisfied  when  I  awake  with  Thy  likeness."  "  He 
satisfieth  the  longing  soul."  "  With  long  life  will  I 
satisfy  him."  No  wonder  that  Isaiah  takes  up  the 
word  and  tells  us  that  we  shall  be  satisfied  in  the 
time  of  drought. 

Now  when  Christianity  is  understood  aright,  it  is 
intended  to  lead  to  soul-satisfaction.  Let  us  be  very 
clear  and  very  careful  as  to  what  we  mean.  Are 
we  satisfied  ?  We  reply,  "  Satisfied  with  what  ?  " 
Satisfied  with  our  attainments  ?  "  God  forbid  !  " 
Satisfied  with  knowledge  ?  "  Far  from  it."  Satis- 
fied with  our  experience  ?  "  Oh,  no."  What  is  really 
meant  and  the  Lord  is  asking  it  of  each  one,  Are  you 
satisfied  with  Christ  ?  We  remember  the  wonderful 
word  in  Psalm  Ixiii.,  "  My  soul  thirsteth,"  and  then 
"  My  soul  shall  be  satisfied."  Are  we  satisfied  with 
Christ  ?    It  is  so  easy  to  sing : 

"  Thou,  O  Christ,  art  all  I  want," 

and  then  to  go  out  and  find  some  part  of  our  satis- 
faction outside  Christ.     So  here  is  the  truth  for  the 


74  POSSIBILITY 

Christian  life  of  every  one.  It  matters  not  how  long 
we  have  been  Christians.  Nor  is  the  question  how 
much  we  know  of  our  Bible.  It  is  not  even  a  ques- 
tion  as  to  how  much  we  have  in  heart  and  mind  of 
orthodoxy,  but  this  one  question  is  supreme :  Am  I 
satisfied  with  Jesus  Christ?  Is  there  any  part  of  my 
life  into  which  He  does  not  enter,  intellectual  life, 
social  life,  recreative  life,  hopes,  ambitions,  aspira- 
tions, and  even  physical  life  ?  Is  there  any  part  of 
life  that  finds  its  satisfaction  elsewhere  ?  This  is  the 
real  test ;  and  this  is  why  we  need  to  ask  God's  Holy 
Spirit  to  convict  us  of  any  dissatisfaction,  anything 
in  our  life  that  is  causing  spiritual  concern  at  this 
moment.  It  is  a  sure  and  certain  test  that  at  any 
time,  under  all  circumstances,  we  can  gauge  our 
own  spiritual  life  by  asking  this  one  question,  "  What 
is  Jesus  Christ  to  me  now  ?  "  Am  I  satisfied  with 
Christ  ?     "  My  soul  shall  be  satisfied." 

III.  We  look  again  at  the  promise  and  notice  in  it 
the  Divine  Secret.  "  My  people  shall  be  satisfied 
with  My  goodness."  The  Divine  Splendour,  "  My 
goodness  ; "  the  Divine  Standard,  "  Shall  be  satis- 
fied ;  "  the  Divine  Secret,  "  My  people."  Now  again 
and  again  in  the  Word  of  God  we  find  a  phrase 
something  like  this,  "  I  will  be  their  God  and  they 
shall  be  My  people."  There  is  no  doubt  whatever 
that  it  is  only  with  a  true  and  full  understanding  of 


SATISFACTION  76 

what  "  My  people  "  means  that  wc  shall  find  what 
spiritual  satisfaction  is  in  our  personal  experience. 

What  then  is  it  ?  What  is  it  to  be  the  people  of 
God  ?  "  My  people."  It  means,  first  and  foremost, 
Pardon.  In  i  Peter  ii.  lo  God's  people  are  described 
as  those  who  had  not  obtained  mercy,  but  now  have 
obtained  mercy.  If  any  one  is  not  certain  on  this 
point,  all  else  will  count  for  nothing  until  and  unless 
we  have  received  God's  pardon,  for  we  never  can  be 
one  of  the  people  of  God  until  we  are  pardoned. 
"  As  many  as  received  Him,  to  them  gave  He  power 
to  become  the  sons  of  God."  "  Ye  are  all  the  chil- 
dren of  God" — how?  "  By  faith  in  Christ  Jesus." 
It  is  only  too  possible  for  people  who  do  not  know 
this  to  desire  the  Christian  life.  We  have  to  take 
for  granted  the  fact  of  forgiveness,  the  consciousness 
of  pardon,  as  the  first  requirement  of  the  Christian 
life  ;  but  if  by  any  possibility  there  is  any  reader  who 
does  not  know  this,  the  way  is  simple  and  clear,  and 
"  as  old  as  the  hills,"  as  we  say.  It  is  the  way  of 
trust,  the  way  of  simple  acceptance,  and  we  enter  into 
the  number  of  the  people  of  God  as  the  result  of  ob- 
taining mercy.. 

The  next  mark  of  the  people  of  God  is  His  Posses- 
sion. In  I  Peter  ii.  9  they  are  called  "  a  peculiar 
people."  The  word  "  peculiar "  does  not  mean 
strange,  but  specially  His  own.     It  does  not  mean  as 


76  POSSIBILITY 

in  our  modern  sense  eccentric  or  singular ;  it  means 
God's  own  property,  His  peculium,  a  people  par- 
ticularly His  own.  First,  Pardon,  then,  Possession  ; 
we  belong  to  God,  and  He  is  able  to  say  "  My 
people  "  if  we  belong  to  Him. 

The  third  mark  is  Purity.  We  are  told  more  than 
once  of  those  who  have  to  "  come  out  "  and  to  "  be 
separate,"  and  to  put  away  the  unclean  thing  in  order 
that  God  may  be  our  God  and  that  we  may  be  His 
people.  He  is  purifying  to  Himself  a  people 
specially  His  own.  It  is  another  of  the  marks  of 
God's  people,  purity ;  purity  of  thought,  of  motive, 
of  desire,  of  will,  of  conscience  and  of  action. 

The  last  of  these  marks  is  Praise.  "  This  people 
have  I  formed  for  Myself ;  they  shall  show  forth  My 
praise."  Pardon,  Possession,  Purity,  Praise.  These 
are  the  four  infallible  marks  of  the  people  of  God. 

Now  comes  the  question,  How  can  all  this  be  ours? 
It  can  at  once  be  answered.  It  is  by  a  threefold 
way.  There  must  be  separation  from  all  known  sin ; 
there  must  be  surrender  to  God ;  and  the  outcome  of 
surrender  will  be  service  for  God.  George  Eliot  once 
said,  "  There  are  many  who  are  living  far  below  their 
possibilities  because  they  are  continually  handing 
over  their  individualities  to  others."  There  are 
many  who  are  Hving  below  their  possibilities  because 
they  have   handed   over   their   individualities   to   a 


SATISFACTION  77 

priest ;  and  as  long  as  they  do  that  they  will  continue 
to  hve  below  their  possibilities.  There  are  others 
who  are  living  below  their  possibilities  because  they 
have  handed  over  their  individuaUties  to  a  clergyman, 
and  he  takes  the  place  of  the  priest.  Although  he  is 
only  a  pastor  they  are  so  dependent  upon  him  that  they 
are  living  below  their  possibilities.  There  are  others 
who  are  living  below  their  possibilities  because  they 
have  handed  over  their  individualities  to  a  favourite 
devotional  author.  They  read  and  read  and  read  this 
man's  books,  imbibing  his  thoughts  and  appropriating 
his  ideas  for  their  life,  and  all  the  while  they  are  liv- 
ing below  their  possibilities.  And  there  are  others 
who  are  liable  to  Hve  far  below  their  possibilities  be- 
cause they  have  handed  over  their  individualities  to  a 
special  speaker.  As  long  as  they  do  that,  they  will 
never  realize  what  God  intended  them  to  be  and  to 
do. 

Let  every  reader  ask  himself.  Am  I  handing  over 
my  individuality  to  any  man  ?  If  this  is  so — what- 
ever form  it  may  take,  then  the  individuality  will 
never  be  what  it  ought  to  be.  Handing  it  over  to 
some  one  else  will  be  the  destruction  of  personality 
and  the  utter  failure  to  realize  its  full  and  proper  pos- 
sibility. 

But  now  let  us  notice  this.  There  are  many  who 
are  living  far  below  their  possibilities  because  they 


78  POSSIBILITY 

are  not  continually  handing  over  their  individualities 
to  Christ.  What  we  dare  not  do  with  man,  we  must 
do  with  Christ.  If  you  and  I  do  not  hand  over  our 
individualities  to  Christ  we  shall  always  remain  on 
a  lower  level  of  possibility.  That  is  the  secret  of  the 
Gospel.  "  Not  I,  but  Christ  Hveth  in  me."  This  is 
found  in  connection  with  grace.  "  Not  I,  but  the 
grace  of  God  that  was  with  me."  Whether  for  life 
or  for  service,  "  Not  I  but  Christ,"  "  Not  I,  but  the 
grace  of  God." 

Tkere  happen  to  be  two  words  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment which  go  to  the  very  heart  of  the  matter. 
They  may  be  given  in  the  Greek,  and  then  in  the 
English.  One  word  is  Tzapadidwfii,  "  I  hand  over,"  and 
the  other  is  napaTidTjfit,  "  I  commit,"  "  I  deposit." 
Now  if  we  look  at  Acts  xv.  26  we  find  Paul  and 
Barnabas  described  as  men  "  who  have  handed  over 
their  lives  on  behalf  of  the  name  " — not  "  hazarded," 
there  is  nothing  of  •'  hazard  "  in  the  word.  "  Handed 
over  their  lives  for  the  sake  of  the  name."  That  is 
the  secret  of  the  power  in  their  lives ;  they  had 
handed  themselves  over  for  the  sake  of  the  name. 
We  also  find  the  word  in  connection  with  our  Lord, 
who  "  kept  on  committing  Himself  to  Him  that 
judgeth  righteously,"  "  kept  on  depositing  Himself 
with  Him  that  judgeth  righteously  "  (i  Pet.  ii.  23). 
The  other  word  is   used  of  Christians.     ««  And  let 


SATISFACTION  79 

them  that  suffer  according  to  the  will  of  God  commit 
their  souls  (deposit  themselves)  in  well-doing  unto  a 
faithful  Creator "  (l  Pet.  iv.  19).  Well  may  the 
Apostle  Paul  say,  "  I  know  whom  I  have  believed,  and 
am  persuaded  that  He  is  able  to  keep  my  deposit, 
that  which  I  have  handed  over,  committed  unto  Him, 
against  that  day  "  (2  Tim.  i.  12). 

This  is  the  New  Testament  message.  You  and  I, 
if  we  would  realize  our  possibilities,  must  hand  over 
our  individualities  to  Jesus  Christ.  This  must  be 
the  language  of  our  lips  and  of  our  hearts,  "  Here  we 
offer  and  present  unto  Thee,  O  Lord,  ourselves,  our 
souls  and  bodies,  to  be  a  reasonable,  holy  and  lively 
sacrifice  unto  Thee."  Then  we  shall  begin  to  pos- 
sess our  possessions,  to  be  satisfied  with  God's  good- 
ness, and  lip  and  life  will  say : 

"  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ, 
Who  hath  blessed  us  with  such  blessings,  all 

uncounted,  all  unpriced. 
Let  our  high  and  holy  calling,  and  our  strong 

salvation  be, 
Theme  of  never-ending  praises,  God  of  sover- 
eign grace  to  Thee." 

^F.  R.  Havergal. 


PART  II 
Provision 


*♦  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee." — 2  Cor.  xii.  p. 

"  Having  all  sufficiency  in  all  things." — 2  Cor.  ix.  8. 

"Thoroughly  furnished." — 2  Tim.  Hi.  ly. 

"  What  He  had  promised.  He  was  able  also  to  per- 
form."— Rom.  iv.  21. 


GRACE 

OUR  Lord  came  that  there  might  be  a  Gos- 
pel to  preach.  Then  He  sent  His  Apostles 
to  preach  it.  The  Gospel  that  He  was  in 
His  Person,  and  that  He  provided  by  His  Word,  and 
the  Gospel  that  they  received  and  proclaimed,  is  best 
stated  in  the  one  word,  Grace  :  "  The  Gospel  of  the 
Grace  of  God "  ;  "  the  Grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  "  ;  "  the  Word  of  His  Grace." 

What  do  we  mean  by  •*  Grace  "  ?  It  is  a  large 
word,  a  great  word,  an  all-inclusive  word,  perhaps 
the  greatest  word  in  the  Bible,  because  it  is  the  word 
most  truly  expressive  of  God's  character  and  attitude 
in  relation  to  man.  It  comes  from  two  or  three 
roots  in  the  Hebrew  and  Greek.  In  the  Greek  we 
find  words  and  derivatives  meaning  "  grace,"  "  gift," 
to  "  give  freely,"  to  "  forgive,"  to  "  bestow  gra- 
ciously," "  joy,"  to  "  rejoice,"  "  thanksgiving,"  to 
"  give  thanks,"  "  thankful."  In  English  (derived 
from  the  Latin)  we  have  "  grace,"  "  gratis,"  "  grati- 
tude," "grateful,"  "  gracious,"  "gratuity,"  "  graceful," 
and  such  opposites  as  "  un-grateful,"  "  un-gracious/' 

83 


84  PEOVISION 

"  disgraceful."  The  subject  is  large,  and  has  many 
aspects ;  the  passages,  too,  are  numerous  and  well 
worthy  of  the  closest  study. 

What  does  the  word  mean  ?  The  root  seems  to 
mean  "  to  give  pleasure,"  and  then  it  branches  out 
comprehensively  in  two  directions  :  one  in  relation 
to  the  Giver ;  the  other  in  relation  to  the  receiver 
of  the  pleasure.  Grace  is  first,  a  quality  oi  gracious- 
ness  in  the  Giver,  and  then  a  quality  oi  gratitude  in 
the  recipient,  which  in  turn  makes  him.  gracious  to 
those  around. 

But  the  idea  has  two  distinct  yet  connected  aspects 
even  when  appUed  only  to  God  the  Giver. 
^^  It  expresses  the  Divine  attitude  to  man  as  guilty 
and  condemned.  Grace  means  God's  favour  and 
good  will  towards  us  (Luke  i.  30).  So  the  Mother 
of  our  Lord  is  described  as  "  permanently  favoured  " 
("  graced,"  Luke  i.  28).  This  favour  is  manifested 
without  any  regard  to  merit;  indeed,  grace  and 
merit  are  entire  opposites.  Grace  is  thus  spontane- 
ous (not  prompted  from  outside) ;  free  (no  condi- 
tions are  required) ;  generous  (no  stint  is  shown) ;  and 
abiding  (no  cessation  is  experienced).  It  is  also  (as 
favour)  opposed  to  "  wrath  "  which  means  judicial 
displeasure  against  sin.  Further,  it  must  be  distin- 
guished from  mercy  even  though  mercy  is  one  of  its 
methods  of  expression.     Mercy  is  related  to  misery 


GRACE  86 

and  to  the  (negatively)  non -deserving.  Grace  is  re- 
lated to  redemption  and  to  the  (positively)  unde- 
serving. 

It  then  expresses  the  Divine  action  to  man  as 
needy  and  helpless.  Grace  means  not  merely  favour 
but  also  help ;  not  only  benevolence  but  also  bene- 
faction ;  not  simply  feeling  but  also  force ;  not  solely 
good  will  but  also  good  work.  It  is  Divine  favour 
expressed  in  and  proved  by  His  gift ;  attitude  shown 
by  action.  Thus  from  grace  comes  gift,  which  in- 
variably implies  a  gift  of  or  by  grace  (Rom.  v.  15 ; 
I  Cor.  iv.  6;  Rom.  xii.  6). 

These  two  ideas  are  thus  connected  and  united  as 
Cause  and  Effect.  They  tell  of  God's  Heart  and 
God's  Hand.  Etymologically,  therefore,  Grace  is  a 
term  that  refers  to  the  beautiful  which  gives  delight. 
Theologically,  it  means  God's  favour  as  seen  in  His 
gift.  Practically,  it  implies  God's  presence  and  re- 
demptive power  in  human  life.  Blending  all  these 
aspects  we  may  think  of  grace  as  God's  spontaneous 
gift  which  causes  pleasure  and  produces  blessing, 
Hort  defines  grace  as  "  free  bounty  "  and,  as  such,  it 
produces  "joy  "  and  is  the  cause  of  actual  power  in 
daily  living.  It  includes  the  two  ideas  of  God's  atti- 
tude and  God's  action ;  His  graciousness  and  His 
gift ;  His  pleasure  and  His  provision ;  His  benedic- 
tion and  His  benefaction.     In  a  sentence,  we  may 


86  PROVISION 

define  God's  grace  as  His  favour  to  the  sinner,  that 
favour  being  shown  and  proved  by  His  gift. 

St.  Paul  is  preeminently  the  Apostle  of  Grace. 
Out  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  New  Testament 
references  to  it,  one  hundred  and  thirty  are  his,  di- 
rectly or  indirectly.  Grace  opens  and  closes  his 
Epistles.  Grace  is  the  key-note  of  his  teaching. 
Grace  was  the  secret  of  his  life  from  conversion  to 
close.  "  By  the  grace  of  God  "  he  was  what  he  was, 
suffered  what  he  suffered,  and  accomplished  what  he 
accomplished.  More,  perhaps,  than  any  other  man, 
Grace  was  the  characteristic  of  his  Christianity. 

Grace  is  the  predominant  feature  of  the  Bible. 
There  is  no  grace  in  heathen  religions.  It  is  not 
a  pre-Christian  word  or  idea.  Ugliness  not  grace, 
cruelty  not  grace,  merit  not  grace  mark  other  re- 
ligions. 

It  is  therefore  worth  while  to  ponder  this  wonder- 
ful truth,  and  to  look  at  it  in  the  varied  light  provided 
by  Holy  Scripture. 

I.  What  is  Grace  in  God? 
Grace  is  God's  Mercy  pitying.  We  can  never 
speak  of  grace  without  speaking  of  sin.  It  was  sin 
that  prompted  grace.  At  first  God  "saw"  every- 
thing that  it  was  very  good  (Gen.  i.).  Then  alas ! 
He  "  saw  "  that  every  imagination  of  man's  heart  was 


GRACE  87 

only  evil  continually  (Gen.  vi.).  And  then  He  "  saw  " 
that  there  was  "  no  man,  and  wondered  that  there 
was  no  intercessor "  (Isa.  Iviii.  i6).  This  threefold 
"  sight "  led  to  the  revelation  and  provision  of  grace, 
for  "  His  own  arm  brought  salvation." 

Grace  is  God's  Wisdom  planning.  To  see  was  to 
ponder  and  plan,  and  the  promise  of  Eden  (Gen. 
iii.  1 6)  runs  through  the  entire  Old  Testament.  In- 
deed, we  may  go  farther  back  and  think  of  the  Di- 
vine purpose  of  grace  "  before  the  world  began." 
As  we  study  what  is  said  both  of  what  God  has  done 
"from  the  foundation  of  the  world  "  ("  from  "  Rev. 
xiii.  8),  and  also  of  what  He  purposed  before  it  ("  be- 
fore "  Eph.  I.  4),  we  can  see  a  little  of  the  plan  of 
grace  in  the  eternal  wisdom  of  God. 

Grace  is  God's  Power  preparing.  For  four  thou- 
sand years  the  grace  of  God  was  at  work,  and  the 
Divine  preparation  went  on.  Among  the  Jews  a 
Saviour  was  prepared  for  the  world,  and  among  the 
Gentiles  the  world  was  prepared  for  a  Saviour. 
Dimly  realized  by  patriarchs,  the  truth  became  grad- 
ually clearer  through  the  ages  by  means  of  Moses 
and  the  prophets,  until  the  end  of  the  old  Dispensa- 
tion. At  length  in  the  fullness  of  time  the  prepara- 
tions were  complete,  and  Christ  came.  The  primeval 
invitation  had  been  given  when  first  God  "  bade 
many,"  and  then  when  the  preparations  were  made, 


88  PEOVISION 

the  second  invitation  was  given:  "Come,  for  all 
things  are  now  ready." 

Grace  is  God's  Love  providing.  The  pity,  the 
plan,  and  the  preparation  were  all  prompted  by  love, 
for  "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave  His  only- 
begotten  Son,"  and  when  Christ  appeared  He  was 
the  revelation  of  the  "  grace  of  God  that  bringeth 
salvation."  We  note  that  it  was  bringing,  not  send- 
ing, for  His  character  was  •'  full  of  grace  and  truth." 

And  so  God  is  rightly  revealed  as  "  the  God  of  all 
grace,"  and  Christianity  as  the  religion  of  grace.  In 
Nature  we  see  preeminently  the  wisdom,  the  majesty, 
and  the  power  of  God.  In  Providence  we  see  the 
law,  the  righteousness,  the  justice  of  God.  In 
Heathenism  we  see  ugliness,  hardness,  cruelty.  But 
in  Christianity  we  see  grace,  because  it  issues  from 
the  very  heart  of  God  Himself  The  word  "  Grace  " 
expresses  more  definitely  than  any  other  term  the 
principle  on  which  God  deals  with  men  in  the  Gos- 
pel. It  is  the  very  opposite  of  all  human  ideas  and 
principles.  Human  life  knows  of  justice,  and  accord- 
ingly of  dealing  out  rewards  and  punishments.  Man 
is  aware  of  the  meaning  of  law  and  its  results  to  inno- 
cent and  guilty.  Man  is  familiar  with  culture,  edu- 
cation, progress,  discipline,  as  processes  in  life.  But 
by  nature  he  knows  nothing  of  grace.  The  idea  of 
dealing  with  sinfulness  and  unworthiness  as  God  has 


GEACE  89 

done  in  the  Gospel  by  grace,  and  of  making  its  in- 
iquity the  occasion  for  superabundant  blessing  is  so 
utterly  unUke  all  things  human,  that  we  can  only 
speak  of  it  in  the  words  of  God  through  the  prophet : 
•«  My  thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts,  neither  My 
ways  your  ways,  saith  the  Lord.  For  as  the  heavens 
are  higher  than  the  earth,  so  are  My  ways  higher 
than  your  ways,  and  My  thoughts  than  your 
thoughts  "  (Isa.  Iv.  8,  9). 

Grace  means  more,  far  more  than  we  can  put 
into  words,  because  it  means  nothing  less  than  the 
infinite  character  of  God  Himself,  It  includes  mercy 
for  the  undeserving  and  unmerciful,  help  for  the 
helpless  and  hopeless,  redemption  for  the  renegade 
and  repulsive,  love  for  the  unloving  and  unlovely, 
kindness  for  the  unkind  and  unthankful.  And  all 
this  in  full  measure  and  overflowing  abundance,  be- 
cause of  nothing  in  the  object,  and  because  of  every- 
thing in  the  Giver,  God  Himself. 

Grace  is  the  character  of  God,  including  mercy 
and  truth,  righteousness  and  peace.  Grace  is  the 
union  of  love  and  holiness,  the  very  foundation  of 
the  nature  of  God  in  Christ. 

n.     What  is  Grace  in  Christ? 
It   is   Saving   Grace.     This   is   suggested  by  the 
Name  "  Jesus,"  which  means  Salvation  (Matt.  i.  21), 


90  PROVISION 

and  the  Apostle  rejoiced  to  say,  and  said  it  twice, 
"  By  grace  are  ye  saved."  The  full  statement  calls 
for  attention.  "  For  God  who  is  rich  in  mercy,  for 
His  great  love  wherewith  He  loved  us,  even  when 
we  were  dead  in  sins,  hath  quickened  us  together 
'.  with  Christ  (by  grace  are  ye  saved) ;  and  hath  raised 
i  us  up  together,  and  made  us  sit  together  in  heavenly 
I  places  in  Christ  Jesus :  that  in  the  ages  to  come  He 
might  show  the  exceeding  riches  of  His  grace  in 
;  His  kindness  towards  us  through  Christ  Jesus " 
(Eph.  ii.  4-7).  Divine  inspiration  seems  to  have 
endeavoured  to  exhaust  itself  in  the  effort  to  express 
the  glory  of  grace.  Not  only  mercy  but  "  rich  in 
mercy."  Not  only  love  but  "  His  great  love  where- 
with He  loved  us."  Not  only  grace  but  "  the  ex- 
ceeding riches  of  His  grace."  And  to  make  it  still 
more  beautifully  human,  the  culminating  point  is 
"  His  kindness  towards  us  through  Christ  Jesus." 
And  then  this  is  seen  to  be  the  source  of  our  salva- 
tion. "  For  by  grace  are  ye  saved,  through  faith ; 
and  that  not  of  yourselves :  it  is  the  gift  of  God " 
(Eph.  ii.  8).  It  is  grace,  as  we  have  seen,  that 
purposed  salvation,  grace  that  purchased  it,  grace 
that  proclaimed  it,  and  it  is  grace  that  applies  it  to 
our  souls.  We  did  not  deserve  it,  we  could  not 
provide  it,  we  do  not  primarily  seek  it.  From  first 
to  last,  salvation  is  all  of  grace. 


GRACE  91 

«*  O  the  love  that  sought  me, 
O  the  blood  that  bought  me, 
O  the  grace  that  brought  me  to  the  fold." 

Whether,  therefore,  we  think  of  the  condemnation 
or  of  the  guilt  of  sin,  the  only  way  of  deliverance  is 
"  by  grace."  Grace  is  the  gift  purchased  for  us  by 
the  tribunal  that  found  us  guilty.  No  merit,  no 
effort,  no  payment  of  man  can  effect  salvation. 
"  Not  by  works  lest  any  man  should  boast."  There 
are  only  two  classes  of  men  in  this  world :  those 
who  think  they  can  win  or  earn  God's  favour ;  the 
others  who  are  certain  they  cannot.  The  former 
approach  God  and  say, 

**  Something  in  my  hand  I  bring.** 

The  latter  say, 

*' Nothing  in  my  hand  I  bring, 
Simply  to  Thy  Cross  I  cling." 

The  hand  clings  to  the  Cross,  and  this  alone  fills 
it  with  "something."  The  reason  why  trust  is  so 
emphasized  is  that  it  expresses  at  once  the  cessation 
of  dependence  on  self  and  the  commencement  of 
dependence  on  some  one  else.  And  this  explains 
how  St.  Paul  can  ring  out  the  Gospel,  "  By  grace  are 
ye  saved,  through  faith."  It  is  not  because  of  "  our 
tears  of  repentance  or  prayers  "  that  He  saves  us ;  it 


92  PEOVISION 

is  not  even  because  of  the  strength  of  the  faith  by 
which  we  accept  Him  that  He  accepts  us ;  it  is  not 
because  of  any  pledge  of  future  faithfulness  that  He 
receives  us ;  it  is  not  because  of  His  foresight  of  our 
subsequent  obedience  that  He  is  willing  to  take  us 
back.  It  is  solely  of  His  unmerited  mercy,  His 
undeserved  grace,  and  unrequited  love  that  He  wel- 
comes us  to  Himself. 

"  That  Thou  should'st  love  a  wretch  like  me, 
And  be  the  God  Thou  art. 
Is  darkness  to  my  intellect, 
But  sunshine  to  my  heart." 

It  is  Sanctifying  Grace.  This  is  suggested  by  the 
word  '•  Christ,"  which  means  "  Anointed."  Jesus  the 
Saviour  was  anointed  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  this 
anointing  was  given  to  Him  for  His  people  (Acts 
ii.  33).  He  is  "  Christ,"  the  Anointed  One,  and  they 
are  "  Christians,"  the  anointed  ones  (Acts  xi.  26). 
This  anointing  of  Christ  by  the  Spirit  is  for  holiness. 
Grace  not  only  brings  salvation,  but  sanctification. 
A  very  usual  conception  of  the  Christian  Hfe  is  that 
of  salvation  by  grace,  but  sanctification  by  our  own 
effort;  justification  by  faith,  but  sanctification  by 
fighting ;  salvation  by  acceptance,  but  sanctification 
by  struggle.  But  God  does  not  rescue  and  redeem 
from  the  horrible  pit  and  miry  clay,  and  set  our  feet 
upon  a  rock,  and  then  expect  us  to  go  on  alone. 


GRACE  93 

This  way  disappointment  lies,  and  often  backsliding. 
No,  "  He  orders  our  goings."  The  grace  that  saves 
is  the  grace  that  sanctifies.  "  As  ye  received  Christ 
Jesus  the  Lord,  so  walk  in  Him."  We  received  Him 
by  grace  through  faith ;  we  must  continue  by  the 
same  way,  and  walk  the  same  step.  There  is  grace 
"  wherein  we  stand "  as  well  as  grace  whereby  we 
have  been  saved,  and  this  grace  sanctifies,  fills  and 
keeps.  Goodness  is  not  a  matter  of  temperament 
with  grace  merely  supplementing  nature.  Goodness 
is  not  culture  and  education,  as  though  grace  means 
only  the  introduction  of  high  ideals,  powerful  mo- 
tives, and  splendid  models  by  which  to  face  the  old 
sinful  nature.  The  seventh  of  Romans  with  its  deadly 
warfare  of  two  natures  does  not  represent  the  normal 
Christian  life  of  sanctification.  There  is  no  Divine 
grace  in  that  chapter ;  only  man's  nature  struggling 
to  be  good  and  holy  by  law.  The  processes  of  pen- 
ance and  self-mortification  are  only  examples  of  this 
endeavour  to  be  holy  by  effort,  struggle  and  law. 
God's  way  is  all  of  grace,  the  gift  of  Christ  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  entering  in  to  abide,  to  cleanse,  to  keep, 
to  guide,  to  overcome,  to  transform.  Grace  does  not 
improve  the  old  nature,  it  overcomes  it.  Grace  does 
not  educate  the  natural  heart,  it  promises  hereafter 
to  extirpate  it,  and  meanwhile  it  counteracts  its  tend- 
encies, and  enables  the  believer  to  "  reign  in  life." 


M  PROVISION 

Grace  means  a  new  life,  a  Divine  life,  which  lifts  us 
above  the  natural,  and  is  nothing  else  than  the  life  of 
Christ  Himself  in  His  people.  This  is  what  St.  John 
meant  when  he  said,  "  Of  His  fullness  have  all  we 
received,  and  grace  for  grace  "  (John  i.  i6).  Grace 
provides  and  produces  what  we  require  for  holiness. 
Everything  that  we  need — love,  patience,  holiness, 
meekness,  in  a  word,  Christlikeness — becomes  ours 
as  grace  controls,  and  because  it  is  "  not  I,  but  Christ 
liveth  in  me." 

Let  no  one  say  that  grace  is  insufficient  for  holi- 
ness or  that  it  excuses  sin.  Far  from  it,  and  quite 
the  contrary.  It  teaches  us  to  deny  worldly  lusts, 
and  to  live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly  in  this 
present  world,  and  then  it  gives  the  power  to  do  all 
The  Gospel  is  for  life  here  and  now,  and  not 
merely  for  death.  It  provides  not  a  hearse  but  a 
chariot.  It  is  intended  to  give  a  good  soul,  a  sound 
mind,  a  healthy  body,  a  strong  nerve.  It  does  not 
subtract  from  anything  right  or  bright ;  it  "  adds "  / 
(2  Pet.  i.  5),  it  "  multiplies  "  (2  Pet.  i.  2),  and  provides  y 
^  abundance  of  grace  "  (Rom.  v.  17),^  So  far  from 
dispensing  with  morality,  it  insists  on  it  as  essential, 
and  not  only  so,  but  grace  and  grace  alone  secures 
morality  in  quality  and  quantity. 

**  Talk  we  of  morals  !    O  Thou  bleeding  Lamb, 
The  best  morality  is  love  of  Thee." 


GRACE  96 

It  is  Sovereign  Grace.  This  is  suggested  by  the 
word  "  Lord,"  which  impHes  the  rule  and  master- 
ship of  Christ  Jesus.  St.  Paul  tells  us  that  "  Grace 
reigns  "  (Rom.  v.  17),  and  this  is  so  because  "  Jesus 
Christ  is  Lord."  From  the  very  outset  to  the  very 
end  He  is  and  must  be  Lord. 

•'  To  this  end  Christ  both  died,  and  rose,  and  re- 
vived, that  He  might  be  Lord  "  (Rom.  xiv.  9).  And  as 
this  is  realized  His  grace  is  seen  to  be  sovereign,  and 
tl;ie  soul  is  called  on  to  be  humble.  There  is  nothing 
so  humbling  as  grace  because  we  know  it  can  only 
be  ours  in  proportion  as  Jesus  Christ  is  our  Lord. 
•♦  What  hast  thou  that  thou  didst  not  receive  ?  "  This 
is  the  constant  and  grateful  language  of  the  soul. 
"  By  the  grace  of  God  I  am  what  I  am." 

It  is  Satisfying  Grace.  This  is  suggested  by  the 
full  title,  "  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."  Grace  satisfies  at 
every  step.  It  meets  the  claim  of  law  with  justifica- 
tion ;  it  meets  the  breach  of  love  with  forgiveness  ;  it 
meets  the  consciousness  of  solitariness  by  fellowship ; 
it  meets  the  sense  of  misery  by  love ;  it  meets  the 
hideousness  of  defilement  by  holiness  ;  it  meets  the 
realization  of  weakness  by  power ;  it  meets  the  haunt- 
ing of  fear  by  hope.  We  can  therefore  look  back 
and  praise  the  grace  that  made  us  Christ's ;  we  can 
look  round  and  trust  the  grace  that  keeps  us  His ; 
and  we  can  look  forward  and  hope  perfectly  for  the 


96  PEOVISION 

grace  that  is  to  be  brought  to  us  in  the  revelation  of 
Jesus  Christ  (l  Pet.  i.  13). 

"  Grace  fathomless  as  the  sea, 
Grace  flowing  from  Calvary. 
Grace  enough  for  eternity, 
Grace  for  you  and  for  me." 

III.    What  is  Grace  in  Us  ? 

Our  Life  is  to  be  a  Monument  of  GraccT^  All  that 
we  are,  have,  do,  and  become  is  of  grace,  and  we  are 
so  to  live  that  our  lives  are  to  be  to  the  "  glory  of  His 
grace." 

Our  Lips  are  to  be  Mouthpieces  of  Grace.  We 
are  to  "  testify  the  Gospel  of  the  grace  of  God " 
(Acts  XX.  24).  Our  speech  is  to  "  be  with  grace  " 
(Col.  iv.  6),  and  we  are  to  "  sing  with  grace  in  our 
hearts  to  the  Lord  "  (Col.  iii.  16). 


Our  Love  is  to  be  a  Means  of  Grace.  God's  love  is 
only  made  available  for  others  through  His  children, 
and  for  this_  reason  beUevers  are  to  be  "  means  of 
grace."  The  truth  needed  for  salvation,  the  comfort 
needed  for  cheer,  the  holiness  needed  for  living  are 
mediated  by  us  to  others,  and  in  proportion  as  they 
see  the  love  of  God  in  us  will  our  lives  be  means  of 
grace  to  them.  Grace  will  make  us  gracious  in  our 
dealings  and  enable  us  to  avoid  the  spirit  of  hardness, 
hatred,  severity,  and  manifest  the  spirit  of  love, 
patience,  mildness,  forgiveness,  and  tenderness.     The 


GEACE  97 

love  of  God  in  our  hearts  will  lead  to  the  love  of  / 
others,  and  all  our  relationships  will  be  sweetened, 
hallowed,  purified,  uplifted,  and  transfigured.  And 
all  this  will  be  so  powerful  in  its  influence  that  those 
around  will  see  God  in  us,  and  will  find  our  lives  true  \ 
means  of  desiring  to  come  into  contact  with  Him. 
There  is  no  means  of  grace  to  compare  with  a  Christ- 
like spirit. 

Our  Labour  is  to  be  a  Messenger  of  Grace.  The 
works  of  grace  are  to  be  carried  out  by  God's  people, 
and  if  they  do  not  do  this,  they  will  thereby  prove 
that  they  know  nothing  of  grace.  What  we  receive 
from  God  as  "  gratia  "  comes  to  us  "  gratis,"  and  is 
intended  to  make  us  "  gratum,"  grateful.  His  grace 
is  intended  to  elicit  gratitude,  and  gratitude  is  to  be 
shown  in  graciousness  to  others.  And  yet  all  along 
it  will  be  "  Not  I,  but  the  grace  of  God  which  was 
with  me  "  (i  Cor.  xv.  lo).  The  Holy  Spirit  endows 
us  with  gifts  of  grace,  and  we  minister  according  to 
the  ability  that  God  giveth.  Our  sufficiency  is  not 
of  self,  but  of  grace,  and  our  service  is  the  outflow  of 
the  grace  of  God  in  the  heart.  From  Him  we  receive 
the  love,  the  power,  the  blessing  we  endeavour  to 
pass  on  to  others  ;  from  Him  comes  the  grace  which 
enables  us  to  serve  God  acceptably.  And  thus  we 
indeed  "  testify  "  to  the  "  grace  of  God,"  and  reveal 
something  of  "  the  exceeding  riches  of  His  grace." 


98  PEOVISION 

As  we  review  the  marvellous  record  of  Grace  in 
God,  in  Christ,  and  in  us,  we  see  very  plainly  two 
things.  It  is  a  Gospel  for  the  Sinner.  It  excludes 
all  human  merit,  renounces  all  human  claim,  and 
centres  in  God  alone.  If  any  one  should  say,  ••  It  is 
too  cheap,"  let  him  look  at  Calvary  and  see  the  cost 
to  God.  If  any  one  should  say,  "  It  is  too  easy,"  let 
him  again  look  at  Calvary  and  realize  what  was 
needed  to  put  sin  away.  It  is  as  if  God  were  saying, 
"  If  you  want  to  know  what  sin  is  look  at  My  Son." 
It  is  cheap,  it  is  easy  for  us  because  it  is  gratuitous, 
and  if  it  were  not  gratuitous  there  would  be  no  salva- 
tion at  all.  But  to  God  it  was  unspeakably  costly, 
because  sin  was  so  hideous  and  awful  as  to  necessitate 
it.  But  the  "  precious  "  blood  of  Christ  is  the  glory 
of  grace,  and  now  to  us  who  believe  He  is  indeed 
"  precious,"  and  will  be  to  all  eternity. 

It  is  also  a  Gospel  for  the  Saint.  It  not  only  pro- 
vides redemption,  but  it  humbles  pride,  guarantees 
holiness,  inspires  to  service,  incites  to  hope,  pledges 
heaven,  and  glorifies  God.  No  wonder,  therefore, 
that  we  are  invited  to  receive  this  grace  and  warned 
against  receiving  it  in  vain  (2  Cor.  vi.  i).  It  calls  for 
appropriation  and  application.  Grace  does  not  work 
apart  from  our  responsibility.  We  must  use  it, 
believe  it,  respond  to  it,  reproduce  it.  We  can  have 
little  or  much,  we  can  be  rich  or  poor,  we  can  rejoice 


GBACE  99 

in  the  Divine  wealth  or  exist  in  miserable  poverty. 
But  those  who  accept  the  Divine  invitation  know  by 
experience  what  St.  Paul  meant  when  he  said, "  They 
which  receive  abundance  of  grace  and  of  the  gift  of 
righteousness  shall  reign  in  Ufe  by  one,  Christ  Jesus  " 
(Rom.  V.  17). 

And  so,  "  the  Lord  will  give  grace  and  glory " 
(Ps.  Ixxxiv.  II).  First  grace,  then  glory.  No  grace, 
no  glory.  Much  grace,  much  glory.  If  grace,  then 
glory.     Be  it  ours  to  say  Amen. 

"  Amen  "  as  a  prayer.     May  it  be  so  ! 

"  Amen  "  as  a  purpose.     It  shall  be  so  ! 

"  Amen  "  as  a  prospect.     It  will  be  so  ! 

"  Amen  "  as  a  persuasion.     It  can  be  so ! 

"  Amen  "  as  a  possession.     It  is  so ! 


"  Grace  !  'tis  a  charming  sound, 
Harmonious  to  the  ear  ; 
Heav'n  with  the  echo  shall  resound 
And  all  the  earth  shall  hear. 

*'  Grace  first  contrived  a  way 
To  save  rebellious  man  ; 
And  all  the  steps  that  grace  display. 
Which  drew  the  wondrous  plan. 

**  'Twas  grace  that  wrote  my  name 
In  life's  eternal  book  ; 
'Twas  grace  that  gave  me  to  the  Lamb 
Who  all  my  sorrows  took. 


IQO  PROVrSIOX 

"  Grace  taught  my  wanderiug  feet 
To  tread  the  heav'nly  road  ; 
And  new  supplies  each  hour  I  meet 
While  pressing  on  to  God. 

"  Grace  taught  my  soul  to  pray, 
And  made  my  eyes  o'erflow ; 
'Twas  grace  which  kept  me  to  this  day 
And  will  not  let  me  go. 

"  Grace  all  the  work  shall  crown 
Through  everlasting  days ; 
It  lays  in  heav'n  the  topmost  stone. 
And  well  deserves  the  praise. 

"  Oh,  let  Thy  grace  inspire 

My  soul  with  strength  divine  ! 
May  all  my  powers  to  Thee  aspire, 
And  all  my  days  be  Thine." 


VI 

JUSTIFICATION 

THE  spiritual  life  can  be  considered  from  the 
Divine  or  the  human  standpoint,  from  the 
point  of  view  of  God's  provision  or  from 
that  of  our  appropriation.  As  a  rule  differences  do 
not  show  themselves  in  connection  with  the  great  ob- 
jective concerning  God,  Christ,  the  Holy  Spirit,  Sin 
and  Redemption.  It  is  only  in  the  application  of 
them  to  individual  and  corporate  life  that  differences 
emerge.  We  see  this  in  the  great  Reformation 
Movement  of  the  sixteenth  century.  There  was  no 
essential  difference  on  fundamental  doctrine ;  the  vital 
differences  were  in  regard  to  the  precise  methods 
of  applying  Christ's  Redemption  to  individual  life. 
This  is  especially  seen  in  connection  with  what  is 
known  as  the  doctrine  of  Justification,  for  it  was  the 
theological  and  spiritual  foundation  of  the  Reforma- 
tion Movement.  People  sometimes  wonder  why 
Luther  called  that  doctrine  "the  article  of  a  standing 
or  falling  Church,"  but  his  spiritual  insight  was  per- 
haps never  more  evident  than  when  he  did  so. 

101 


102  PEOVI8ION 

The  question  of  Justification  was  not  only  the 
foundation  of  the  Reformation  ;  it  lies  at  the  root  of 
all  Christian  life  and  service,  for  only  when  it  is 
settled  are  real  peace,  power  and  progress  possible. 
The  prominence  given  to  it  at  the  Reformation  is  a 
striking  testimony  to  its  importance  as,  in  some 
respects,  the  supreme  question  of  the  ages.  Justifica- 
tion is  concerned  with  the  great  inquiry :  "  How 
should  man  be  just  with  God?"  This  inquiry  is 
found  as  far  back  as  the  Book  of  Job,  and  then  no 
less  than  four  times  (iv.  17;  ix.  2;  xv.  14;  xxv.  4). 
It  is  seen  throughout  the  history  of  the  Jews,  it  is  ex- 
pressed in  heathen  sacrifices,  and  is  implied,  in  one 
way  or  another,  in  all  oriental  religions.  The  Bible 
alone  gives  the  true  answer,  and  it  was  this  beyond 
all  else  that  led  to  the  emphasis  on  the  Bible  as  the 
Rule  of  Faith  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation.  It 
may  be  said  that  the  whole  movement  of  the 
sixteenth  century  was  bound  up  with  the  two  prin- 
ciples of  the  Sufficiency  and  the  Supremacy  of  the 
Bible,  and  Justification  by  Faith. 

The  first  hint  of  the  latter  subject  comes  in 
Genesis  xv.  6,  and  then  gradually  through  the  Old 
Testament  more  and  more  light  is  given  in  such  pas- 
sages as  Psalm  cxUii.  2,  Micah  vi.  6,  Habakkuk  ii.  4, 
until  at  length  in  the  New  Testament  we  have  God's 
full  revelation  in  answer  to  man's  inquiry.     It  will 


JUSTIFICATION  108 

help  us  to  understand  this  subject  if  we  proceed  to 

ask  some  questions. 

I.    What  is  the  Meaning  of  Justification  ? 

Justification  can  be  understood  either  as  the  Divine 
act  and  gift  to  man,  or  else  as  the  human  reception 
and  result  of  the  Divine  gift. 

Justification  is  thus  connected  with  our  true  rela- 
tion to  God.  A  good  definition  of  it  is  found  in  the 
Church  of  England  Article,  "  We  are  accounted 
righteous  before  God."  Justification  is  not  concerned 
with  our  spiritual  condition,  but  with  our  spiritual  re- 
lation ;  not  with  our  actual  state,  but  with  our  judicial 
position.  This  should  be  continually  borne  in  mind 
in  order  to  avoid  spiritual  confusion  and  difficulty. 

This  true  relation  to  God  was  originally  lost  by  sin. 
Sin  is  always  disobedience  of  the  Divine  Law,  rebel- 
lion against  God's  Will,  and  in  regard  to  our  true  re- 
lation to  God,  there  are  three  results  of  sin  :  guilt, 
condemnation,  separation.  We  see  these  three  in 
the  Garden  of  Eden  as  the  direct  and  immediate 
result  of  sin. 

Justification  is  the  restoration  of  this  true  relation 
to  God,  and  as  such  includes  (a)  the  removal  of  con- 
demnation by  the  gift  of  forgivenesss ;  [d)  the  re- 
moval of  guilt  by  the  reckoning  (or  imputation)  of 
righteousness ;  (c)  the  removal  of  separation  by  the 


104  PROVISION 

restoration  to  fellowship.  Justification  therefore 
means,  to  treat  as  just  or  righteous,  to  account 
righteous,  to  regard  as  righteous,  to  declare  right- 
eous, to  pronounce  righteous  in  the  eyes  of  the  law 
(Ps.  n.  4;  Prov.  xvii.  15  ;  Ezek.  xvi.  51,  52;  Matt, 
xi.  19 ;  xii.  37  ;  Luke  vii.  35).  As  we  have  seen, 
it  is  at  least  a  coincidence  that  St.  Paul's  three  ques- 
tions at  the  close  of  his  eighth  chapter  in  Romans 
deal  with  these  three  results  of  sin  as  seen  in  the 
history  of  the  Fall :  {a)  "  Who  shall  lay  anything  to 
the  charge  of  God's  elect?"  (verse  33).  That  is,  No 
guilt,  (d)  "  Who  is  he  that  condemneth  ?  "  (verse  34). 
No  condemnation,  (c)  "  Who  shall  separate  us  ?  " 
(verse  35).     No  separation. 

Justification  is  therefore  much  more  than  pardon, 
and  the  two  are  clearly  distinguished  by  St.  Paul 
(Acts  xiii.  38,  39).  A  criminal  is  pardoned,  though 
he  cannot  be  regarded  as  righteous.  But  Justifica- 
tion is  that  act  of  God  whereby  He  accepts  and 
accounts  us  righteous,  while  in  ourselves  we  are 
unrighteous.  The  Christian  is  not  merely  a  par- 
doned criminal,  but  a  righteous  man.  Man  can  for- 
give his  fellow  man,  but  he  cannot  justify  him.  God 
can  do  both.  Forgiveness  is  an  act  issuing  in  an 
attitude.  Forgiveness  is  repeated  throughout  life; 
justification  is  complete  and  never  repeated.  It  re- 
lates to  our  spiritual  position  in  the  sight  of  God 


JUSTIFICATION  105 

and  covers  the  whole  of  our  life,  past,  present  and 
future.  Forgiveness  is  only  negative,  the  removal 
of  condemnation ;  justification  is  also  positive,  the 
removal  of  guilt  and  the  bestowal  of  a  perfect  stand- 
ing before  God.  In  a  word,  justification  means  rein- 
statement. Forgiveness  is  being  stripped ;  justifi- 
cation is  being  clothed.  Day  by  day  we  approach 
God  for  forgiveness  and  grace,  on  the  footing  of  a 
relation  of  justification  that  lasts  throughout  our  lives. 
In  regard  to  the  justified  man,  the  believer,  God  is 
"  Faithful  and  righteous  to  forgive."  Thus  justifica- 
tion is  the  ground  of  our  assurance.  The  reason 
why  "  we  know  "  is  because  of  what  Christ  has  done 
for  us  and  is  to  us. 

Justification  is  also  different  from  "  making  right- 
eous," which  is  the  usual  interpretation  of  Sanctifica- 
tion.  The  two  are  inseparable  in  fact,  but  they  are 
distinguishable  in  thought,  and  must  certainly  be 
kept  quite  clear  of  each  other  if  we  desire  peace  and 
blessing.  Justification  concerns  our  standing;  Sanc- 
tification  our  state.  The  former  affects  our  position ; 
the  latter  our  condition.  The  first  deals  with  rela- 
tionship ;  the  second,  with  fellowship.  And  even 
though  they  are  bestowed  together,  we  must  never 
confuse  them.  The  one  is  the  foundation  of  peace 
— "  Christ  for  us  "  ;  the  other  is  the  foundation  of 
purity — "  Christ  in  us."     The  one  deals  with  accept- 


106  PROVISION 

ance ;  the  other  with  attainment.  Sanctification  ad- 
mits of  degrees,  we  may  be  more  or  less  sanctified  ; 
Justification  has  no  degrees,  but  is  complete,  perfect 
and  eternal.  "  Justified  from  all  things."  Our  Lord 
indicated  this  distinction  between  Justification  and 
Sanctification  when  He  said,  "  He  that  hath  been 
bathed  (justification)  needeth  not  save  to  wash  the 
feet  (sanctification)." 

At  this  point  it  is  necessary  and  important  to 
consider  the  Roman  Catholic  doctrine  of  Justifica- 
tion. While  there  are  other  prominent  differences 
between  the  New  Testament  and  the  Church  of 
Rome,  it  is  apt  to  be  overlooked  that  there  is  a  fun- 
damental difference  between  them  on  Justification  as 
well.  A  brief  reference  to  what  happened  at  the 
Council  of  Trent  will  enable  us  to  understand  this 
difference.  Dr.  Lindsay  describes  the  statement  put 
forth  at  that  Council  as  "  a  masterpiece  of  theolog- 
ical dexterity."  This  was  doubtless  due  to  the  fact 
that  there  was  not  a  little  evangelical  doctrine  of  the 
Roman  Church  which  had  to  be  considered,  and  so 
much  was  this  the  case,  that  at  one  time  it  had  been 
thought  possible  to  win  over  the  Protestants.  But 
that  time,  if  it  ever  existed,  had  gone  by,  and  the 
discussion  in  the  Council  revealed  fundamental  lines 
of  difference.  A  small  minority  was  ready  to  accept 
the  Lutheran  view  of  Justification  by  faith  alone,  but 


JUSTIFICATION  107 

the  majority  easily  won  the  day  on  behalf  of  a  view 
which  was  almost  the  exact  opposite  of  the  Lutheran 
doctrine.  The  result  was  that  Justification  was  no 
longer  regarded  as  a  change  of  state,  but  as  the 
actual  conversion  of  a  sinner  into  a  righteous  man. 
The  fact  is  that  Rome  teaches  forgiveness  through 
Sanctification,  while  Scripture  teaches  the  opposite. 
Rome  confuses  Justification  and  Sanctification,  and 
says  that  the  former  comes  by  the  infusion  of  Grace, 
and  includes  remission  and  renovation.  But  this  is 
really  to  rob  the  soul  of  the  objective  ground  of 
righteousness,  and  to  confuse  spiritual  acceptance 
with  spiritual  attainment.  Justification  in  Scripture 
is  independent  of,  and  anterior  to  the  spiritual  state 
or  condition,  which,  however,  necessarily  follows. 
It  has  often  been  pointed  out  that  Justification,  ac- 
cording to  the  Scripture,  is  complete  from  the  first. 
As  a  modern  writer  has  remarked  the  father  in  the 
parable  does  not  leave  his  prodigal  son  outside  the 
house  until  he  has  shown  his  repentance  by  his 
works.  He  goes  forth  to  meet  him  and  heartily 
welcomes  him.  And  in  the  same  way  the  sinner  is 
not  taken  back  into  the  Divine  favour  by  degrees, 
but  is  restored  at  once  to  all  his  privileges  as  a  child 
of  God.  This,  as  it  has  been  well  urged,  is  the  only 
way  to  make  the  work  of  sanctification  complete.  It 
is  a  work  which  can  go   forward  only  after  the  re- 


108  PROVISION 

lation  of  fatherhood  and  sonship  has  been  fully  re- 
established. It  is  only  by  such  love  that  the  sinner's 
love  can  be  made  perfect  (i  John  iv.  19). 

It  is  of  vital  importance,  therefore,  to  keep  clear 
the  distinction  between  the  doctrine  of  the  New 
Testament  and  that  of  Rome,  because  there  is  so 
much  confusion  to-day  in  regard  to  the  essential 
meaning  of  our  acceptance  with  God. 

II.  What  is  the  Basis  of  Justification? 
We  are  accounted  righteous  before  God,  "  only  on 
account  of  the  merit  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  This 
is  the  language  of  the  Anglican  Article,  and  it  can 
be  parallelled  by  identical  teaching  in  the  Westmin- 
ster Confession  and  other  similar  documents.  It  is 
an  echo  of  the  Pauline  language,  "  In  Him  .  .  . 
justified  "  (Acts  xiii.  39).  The  "  merit  "  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  of  course,  refers  to  His  atoning  work, 
by  which  He  removed  the  alienation  between  God 
and  the  sinner  and  brought  about  our  reconciliation. 
It  must  never  be  forgotten  that  the  New  Testament 
doctrine  of  Reconciliation  implies  a  change  of  rela- 
tionship, and  not  a  mere  alteration  of  feeling  on  our 
part.  This  doctrine  of  Justification  because  of  the 
work  of  Christ  is  seen  all  through  the  New  Testa- 
ment. Our  Lord's  perfect  obedience,  even  unto 
death,  His  payment  of  the  penalty  due  to  our  trans- 


JUSTIFICATION  109 

gressions,  His  spotless  righteousness,  the  entire  merit 
of  His  Divine  Person  and  work,  form  the  ground  or 
basis  of  our  justification.  This  merit  is  reckoned  to 
us,  put  to  our  account;  God  looks  at  us  in  Him,  not 
only  as  pardoned,  but  as  righteous.  "  He  who  knew 
no  sin,  was  made  sin  for  us,  that  we  might  become 
God's  righteousness  in  Him"  (2  Cor.  v.  21).  This  is 
the  great  and  satisfying  doctrine  of  the  imputed 
righteousness  of  Christ,  which  is  clearly  taught  in 
the  New  Testament  as  meritorious  on  our  behalf. 
It  is  sometimes  stated  that  this  theory  is  not  found 
in  Scripture,  because  of  its  association  with  what  is 
sometimes  called  "  legal  fiction,"  but  in  the  light  of 
the  teaching  of  the  New  Testament  on  our  Lord's 
atoning  death,  by  which  we  are  accounted  righteous 
before  God,  the  doctrine  of  Imputation  is  quite  clear, 
and  is  taught  plainly,  in  Scripture  and  therefore  in 
the  truest  theology. 

This  reference  to  the  "  merit "  of  our  Lord  brings 
into  greater  contrast  the  negative  aspect  emphasized 
by  St.  Paul  that  our  justification  is  due  to  Christ 
through  faith,  and  not  for  our  own  works  or  deserv- 
ings.  Our  obedience  to  law  could  not  merit  or  work 
out  our  Justification.  It  is  absolutely  impossible  for 
anything  human  to  form  the  foundation  of  acceptance 
with  God,  for  our  obedience  to  law  could  not  bring 
this    about.     God    requires    perfect   obedience  (Gal. 


110  PEOVI8ION 

iii.  lo),  and  man  cannot  render  this.  Human  nature 
has  ever  been  attempting  to  establish  its  own  right- 
eousness, but  failure  has  been  the  invariable  result. 
The  Jews  of  old  (Rom.  x.  3),  and  mankind  to-day, 
alike  fail  because  of  the  twofold  inability ;  inability 
to  blot  out  the  past,  and  inability  to  guarantee  the 
present  and  future.  Justifying  righteousness  must 
be  by  a  perfect  obedience,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  is  the 
only  One  who  ever  rendered  it.  Nothing  could  be 
clearer  in  the  New  Testament  than  the  absolute  im- 
possibility of  human  merit  in  connection  with  Justifi- 
cation. 

III.    What  is  the  Method  of  Justification? 

The  merit  of  our  Lord  becomes  ours  "  by  faith." 
"  Through  Him  all  that  believe  are  justified  "  (Acts 
xiii.  39).  Faith  is  never  the  ground  of  Justification, 
but  only  its  means  or  channel.  All  the  New  Testa- 
ment references  to  faith  indicate  this  in  the  clearest 
possible  way.  Trust  implies  dependence  upon  an- 
other and  the  consequent  cessation  of  dependence 
upon  ourselves.  Faith  is  therefore  the  acknowledg- 
ment of  our  own  inability  and  the  admission  of  our 
need  of  another's  ability.  Faith  links  us  to  Christ  and 
is  the  means  of  our  appropriation  of  His  merit.  The 
full  meaning  of  Faith  in  the  New  Testament  is  trust, 
(i)  The  primary  idea  is  belief  in  a  fact  (i  John  v.  I). 


JUSTIFICATION  111 

(2)  The  next  is  belief  in  a  person's  word  (John  iv.  21). 

(3)  But  the  fullest  is  trust  in  a  person  (John  iii.  16). 
Thus,  faith  in  its  complete  sense  includes  the  assent 
of  the  mind  and  the  consent  of  the  will,  the  credence 
of  the  intellect  and  the  confidence  of  the  heart.  As 
such,  it  is  best  understood  as  trust,  the  attitude  of  one 
person  to  another. 

The  reason  why  faith  is  emphasized  is  that  it  is  the 
only  possible  answer  to  God's  revelation.  From  the 
earliest  days  this  has  been  so.  The  word  of  the  Lord 
came  to  Abraham  and  he  at  once  responded  by  sim- 
ple trust  (Gen.  xv,  1-6).  To  the  same  effect  are  the 
various  illustrations  of  faith  in  Hebrews  xi.,  all  im- 
plying response  to  a  previous  revelation.  Between 
man  and  man  the  absence  of  faith  is  a  barrier  to 
communion,  and  it  is  just  the  same  in  things  spiritual. 
Faith  in  man  answers  to  grace  in  God.  Faith  is  the 
correlative  of  promise.  Trust  answers  to  truth  ;  faith 
renounces  self  and  emphasizes  God's  free  gift.  There 
is  no  merit  in  faith.  It  is  self-assertion  with  a  view 
to  self-surrender.  As  Hooker  once  said,  "  God  doth 
justify  the  believing  man,  yet  not  for  the  worthiness 
of  his  belief,  but  for  His  worthiness  who  is  believed." 
We  are  not  justified  by  belief  in  Christ,  but  by  Christ 
in  whom  we  believe.  Faith  is  nothing  apart  from 
its  object,  and  is  only  valuable  as  it  leads  us  to  Him 
who  has  wrought  a  perfect  righteousness,  and  as  it 


112  PROVISION 

enables   us   to   appropriate   Him  as  the  Lord  our 
righteousness. 

IV.     What  is  the  Value  of  Justification? 

The  Anglican  Article  speaks  of  the  doctrine  as 
"  most  wholesome,"  and  "  very  full  of  comfort,"  and 
this  is  not  surprising  because  every  revival  of  spir- 
itual life  has  been  associated  with  it  as  the  true  ex- 
planation of  the  way  in  which  the  Atonement  is  ap- 
propriated by  sinful  men. 

Justification  in  Christ  through  faith  is  a  necessity 
for  spiritual  health.  The  Council  of  Trent  clearly 
taught  the  meritoriousness  of  Good  Works.  But  as 
long  as  this  is  emphasized  there  cannot  possibly  be 
that  spiritual  life  which  is  found  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. Justification  by  faith  is  the  foundation  of 
peace.  The  soul  looks  backward,  outward,  upward, 
onward,  and  even  inward,  and  is  able  to  say  with  the 
Apostle,  "justified  from  all  things,"  and  as  a  result 
of  •*  being  justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace  with 
God  "  (Rom.  v.  i).  When  this  is  realized,  all  ques- 
tions of  human  merit  disappear,  and  the  fabric  of 
Roman  Catholicism  falls  to  the  ground.  This 
Justification  is  immediate,  certain,  complete  and 
abiding. 

Justification  by  faith  is  really  the  only  answer  to 
the  moral  perplexities  of  the  doctrine  of  original  sin. 


JUSTIFICATION  113 

It  vindicates  God's  righteousness  while  manifesting 
His  mercy  (Acts  xvii.  30,  R.  V. ;  Rom.  iii.  25,  R.  V.). 
Our  deepest  need  is  a  right  idea  of  the  character  of 
the  God  with  whom  we  have  to  do.  How  He  can 
be  just  and  yet  justify  the  ungodly  is  an  insoluble 
problem  apart  from  Jesus  Christ.  Christ  is  the  proof 
of  God's  capacity  to  forgive  while  remaining  just. 
A  sin  convicted  soul  demands  at  least  as  much  right- 
eous indignation  of  sin  in  God  as  it  feels  itself.  This 
is  seen  in  the  Cross.  It  is  characteristic  of  St.  Paul's 
teaching  in  Romans  that  the  Cross  is  the  manifesta- 
tion of  God's  righteousness  rather  than  of  His  mercy 
(Rom.  iii.  21-26).  In  all  this  it  will  never  be  forgot- 
ten that  faith  is  not  the  ground  but  only  the  means 
of  our  justification,  and  the  strength  or  weakness  of 
our  trust  will  not  affect  the  fact  but  only  the  enjoy- 
ment of  our  justification. 

This  doctrine  is  also  the  secret  of  spiritual  liberty. 
All  the  Reformers  felt  and  declared  this,  and  we 
repeat  that  it  was  with  true  spiritual  insight  that 
Luther  spoke  of  it  as  "  the  article  of  a  standing  or 
falling  Church  ;  "  indeed,  we  may  go  further  and  say 
with  a  modern  writer  that  it  is  "  the  article  of  a 
standing  or  falling  soul."  It  removes  the  bondage 
of  the  soul,  sets  the  prisoner  free,  introduces  him 
directly  to  God,  and  gives  continual  access  into  the 
Holiest.     It  therefore  cuts  at  the  root  of  all  sacer- 


114  PEOVISION 

dotal  mediation  as  both  unnecessary  and  dangerous. 
On  this  account  it  is  easy  to  understand  the  intense 
opposition  shown  to  this  doctrine  on  the  part  of  the 
theologians  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 

This  doctrine  is  also  the  necessity  for  spiritual 
power.  It  is  the  foundation  of  holiness.  The  soul 
is  introduced  into  the  presence  of  God,  receives 
the  Holy  Spirit,  realizes  the  indwelling  presence  of 
Christ,  and  in  these  finds  the  secret  and  guarantee  of 
purity  of  heart  and  Ufe.  It  brings  the  soul  into  rela- 
tion with  God,  so  that  from  imputed  righteousness 
comes  imparted  righteousness,  and  this  keeps  the 
doctrine  from  the  charge  of  mere  intellectual  ortho- 
doxy without  spiritual  vitality.  So  far  from  the 
doctrine  putting  a  premium  upon  carelessness  it  is 
in  reality  one  of  the  springs  of  holiness.  When  St. 
Paul  was  charged  with  what  is  now  called  Anti- 
nomianism,  he  did  not  tone  down  his  doctrine  in  the 
least,  but  declared  it  all  the  more  fully  as  the  very 
heart  of  the  Gospel. 

It  is  also  the  secret  of  true  spiritual  service.  The 
soul  released  from  anxiety  about  itself  is  free  to  show 
concern  about  others.  The  heart  is  at  leisure  from 
itself  to  set  forward  the  salvation  of  those  around. 
When  Christian  workers  obtain  a  clear  insight  into 
this  doctrine  and  yield  the  life  to  its  power  and  in- 
fluence, it  becomes  the  means  of  liberty  to  spiritual 


JUSTIFICATION  115 

captives,  and   the   secret   of  peace  and  blessing  to 
hearts  in  spiritual  darkness  and  fear. 

From  all  this  it  is  esisy  to  see  what  the  New  Tes- 
tament teaches,  the  intense  and  immense  spiritual 
blessing  of  the  doctrine,  and  there  are  signs  that  the 
truth  is  being  realized  afresh  by  many  who  have 
been  "  tied  and  bound  by  the  chain "  of  a  purely 
legal  view  of  Christianity.  Certainly,  if  we  are  to  get 
back  not  merely  to  the  joy,  peace,  liberty,  and  power 
of  Reformation  days,  but  still  more  to  the  primitive 
truth  of  the  Christian  Ufe  recorded  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, we  must  give  the  most  definite  prominence  to 
this  truth  of  Justification  in  Christ  through  faith. 


VII 

SANCTIFICATION 

IF  an  average  congregation,  or  even  Bible  class, 
were  asked,  "  Why  did  Jesus  Christ  die  ? " 
the  answer  in  almost  every  case  would  prob- 
ably be,  "  He  died  for  our  sins,  in  our  stead." 
This  would  be  all  true ;  but  not  all  the  truth.  The 
purpose  of  the  death  of  Christ  is  brought  before  us  in 
the  New  Testament  in  a  variety  of  ways,  and  each  of 
them  calls  for  careful  attention.  For  our  present  pur- 
pose we  must  look  at  three  passages :  2  Corinthians 
V.  15,  Ephesians  v.  25,  Titus  ii,  14.  When  we  do  so 
we  shall  easily  see  that  "  for  our  sins  "  means  salva- 
tion from  at  least  three  things  :  the  penalty,  the  power, 
and  the  presence  of  sin.  Salvation  is  one  of  the 
greatest  and  widest  words  in  the  New  Testament,  and 
concerns  the  past,  present,  and  future.  It  embraces 
Justification,  Sanctification,  and  Glorification.  These 
three  great  truths  are  expressed  for  us  in  three 
phrases  :  in  Christ,  like  Christ,  with  Christ,  and  at 
least  one  passage  has  all  three  in  it  (Acts  xxvi.  18). 

We  have  already  considered  the  first,  Justification; 
now  we  have  to  look  at  the  second,  which  has  an 
intimate   and   necessary  connection  with  what  has 

116 


SAliCTIFICATION  117 

preceded.  Justification  is  to  Sanctification  as  the 
foundation  is  to  the  buildnig,  the  source  to  the 
stream,  the  cause  to  the  effect.  Let  us,  therefore, 
give  heed  to  the  teaching  of  i  Thessalonians  iv.  3 : 
"  This  is  the  will  of  God,  even  your  Sanctification." 

I.    The  Principle  of  Sanctification 
Sanctification  is  a  famiUar  word,  but  perhaps  its 
very  familiarity  prevents  us  from  understanding  the 
two  great  truths  involved  and  included  in  it. 

Sanctification  means,  first  of  all,  Consecration,  era 
true  relation  to  God.  It  needs  to  be  reiterated  that 
the  root  idea  of  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  word  for 
"  holy,"  "  sanctify,"  and  their  cognates  is  separation. 
The  original  idea  seems  to  be  ceremonial,  and, 
etymologically,  that  which  is  «•  holy  "  or  "  sanctified  " 
means  "  that  which  belongs  to  God,"  the  primary 
idea  being  not  moral,  but  ceremonial.  This  original 
meaning  is  seen  in  connection  with  days,  places,  in- 
stitutions (as  well  as  persons)  being  holy  or  sanctified, 
where  the  meaning  can  only  be  separation  (Gen. 
ii.  3;  Exod.  xiii.  2;  Josh.  vii.  13).  Thus  Sanctifica- 
tion, in  its  etymological  sense,  means  being  set  apart 
from  other  things  for  God's  ownership  (Isa.  xliii.  21  ; 
Eph.  i.  12;  ii.  10;  iii.  lO).  We  can  see  the  same 
truth  in  connection  with  the  dedication  of  the  priests 
of  the  Old  Testament.     Then,  too,  we  observe  the 


118  PROVISION 

use  of  the  word  as  applied  to  our  Lord  in  a  well- 
known  passage,  "  I  sanctify  myself"  (John  xvii.  19), 
meaning  "  I  consecrate  myself."  It  is,  therefore,  im- 
portant and  essential  to  remember,  as  one  of  the 
foundations  of  our  life  and  experience,  that  the  root 
idea  of  Sanctification  is  Consecration.  We  are  re- 
deemed to  be  set  apart,  dedicated,  consecrated, "  kept 
for  the  Master's  use." 

Then,  as  a  result,  Sanctification  comes  to  mean 
Purification,  or  a  true  condition  before  God.  This  is 
the  natural  and  necessary  consequence  of  our  posses- 
sion by  God.  Scripture  proceeds  from  etymology  to 
usage,  and  goes  on  to  show  the  moral  and  ethical 
meaning  of  our  being  consecrated,  or  separated.  To 
be  used  when  set  apart  involves  fitness,  and  Scripture 
speaks  of  a  twofold  fitness,  meetness.  We  are  first 
of  all  "  made  meet  for  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in 
light"  (Col.  i.  12).  Then,  as  the  outcome  of  this,  we 
are  made  "  meet  for  the  Master's  use"  (2  Tim.ii.  21). 
When  God  possesses  us  we  are  possessed  by  His 
presence,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  cannot  be  in  us  with- 
out purifying  our  thoughts,  desires  and  motives,  and 
so  equipping  us  for  His  service. 

Thus  Sanctification  means  primarily  the  act  and 
fact  of  belonging  to  God,  and  then,  as  the  outcome, 
the  proof  of  this  in  the  life  we  live.  This  ie  how  it 
has  been  put  by  a  recent  writer ; 


8ANCTIFICATI0N  119 

"  Wherever  one  finds  in  the  Bible  *  holy  '  or 
its  cognates,  whether  in  the  Old  Testament  or 
the  New,  whether  in  the  Psalms  or  Wisdom 
Literature  or  Gospels,  the  meaning  is  everywhere 
fundamentally  the  same.  God  as  God  only  is 
holy  in  the  absolute  sense,  for  He  alone  possesses 
the  perfection  of  moral  being.  They  who  belong 
to  God  by  self-dedication  belong  to  Himself  also 
in  moral  likeness  for  they  share  His  life."  ' 

II.  The  Place  of  Sanctification 
It  will  help  us  to  understand  the  meaning  and 
importance  of  Sanctification  if  we  consider  it  in  rela- 
tion to  its  place  in  St.  Paul's  teaching  in  Romans, 
chapters  i.  to  viii.  In  chapters  i.  i8  to  iii.  20  the 
Apostle  shows  that  man's  unrighteousness  demanded 
Divine  righteousness;  then,  from  iii.  21  to  iv.  25  he 
points  out  how  God  provided  this  righteousness  in 
Christ,  and  how  it  is  to  be  received  by  faith ;  and 
then  in  V.  I  to  12  he  shows  how  the  righteousness 
lasts  in  spite  of  every  obstacle.  Up  to  this  point 
he  has  been  concerned  only  with  these  three  great 
truths,  but  now  at  once  comes  an  important  ques- 
tion. If  this  righteousness  thus  covers  the  past  and 
guarantees  the  future,  what  about  the  present  in  be- 
tween ?  This  is  the  problem  of  chapters  vi,  to  viii., 
dealing  with  Sanctification.  Since  Righteousness  as 
Justification  is  Salvation  from  the  penalty  of  sin ;  so 
Righteousness  as  Sanctification  is  Salvation  from  the 

J  Sweet,  "The  Study  of  the  English  Bible,"  p.  214. 


120  PROVISION 

power  of  sin,  and  this,  with  a  brief  reference  to  Glori- 
fication as  Salvation  from  the  presence  of  sin,  is  the 
great  theme  of  chapters  vi.  to  viii. 

It  is  important  to  remember  that  the  believer  has 
been  set  apart  for  God  through  Christ's  Redemption 
from  the  very  outset  "  by  the  offering  of  the  Body 
of  Jesus  Christ,  once  for  all  "  (Heb.  x.  9,  10).  In  this 
sense,  all  who  believe  are  "  Saints,"  or  sanctified  from 
the  moment  of  their  acceptance  of  Christ  (Col.  i. 
12,  13).  The  Holy  Spirit  bears  witness  to  this,  •'  By 
one  offering  He  hath  perfected  forever  them  that  are 
sanctified,  whereof  the  Holy  Spirit  also  is  the  Witness 
to  us  "  (Heb,  X,  14,  15).  All  believers  are,  therefore, 
said  to  be  "  sanctified  by  God  the  Father,  and  pre- 
served in  Christ  Jesus"  (Jude  i).  To  this  effect  we 
read  in  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  "  The 
Church  of  God  which  is  at  Corinth,  to  them  that  are 
sanctified  in  Christ  Jesus,  called  Saints  "(i  Cor.  i. 
I,  2).  This  refers  to  the  Christian's  position,  and, 
of  course,  in  no  way  depends  upon  his  spiritual 
condition  at  any  moment,  for  the  weakest,  most 
ignorant  behever  has  this  relationship.  We  know 
that  among  these  Corinthians  there  were  contentions, 
there  was  pride  in  human  wisdom,  they  were  de- 
scribed as  "  carnal "  and  still  "  babes  in  Christ,"  they 
were  "  puffed  up,"  they  were  sadly  indifferent  to  sin 
in  the  Church;  and  yet  the  Apostle  says  of  these 


SAKCTIFICATION  121 

very  people,  "  Ye  are  sanctified  "  (i  Cor.  vi.  ii) ;  and 
in  the  same  chapter  he  speaks  of  them  as  possessing 
'.he  indwelhng  of  the  Holy  Spirit  (i  Cor.  iii.  i6).     It 
it  thus    clear  that  a  sanctified  person  is  one  who 
btlongs  to  God,  whose  position  in  Christ  is  settled 
qu'te  apart  from  anything  that  he  himself  is  or  does. 
Evtry  one  who  believes  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is 
in  Christ,  and  has  been  sanctified  by  the  offering  of 
Jesui  Christ   once  for  all,  and,  as   such,  is  truly  a 
"  Saiit "   in   position.     He   grows   in   grace,   rather 
than  hto  it.     But  it  is,  of  course,  essential  that  our 
positio\  should  become  expressed  in  our  personal 
experie\ce.     The   Apostle   divides    men    into  three 
classes.    Some    he  calls   "  natural,   not   having   the 
Spirit "  (  Cor.  ii.  14).     This  refers  to  men  who  have 
not    been  born   again,   and   are,   therefore,   neither 
justified    lor    sanctified.     Others    are    described    as 
"carnal"  believers,  who  walk  after  the  flesh,  those 
who   are   bbes   in  Christ  when  they  ought  to  be 
growing  ini^  Christian   manhood  (i  Cor.   iii.   1-4). 
Yet,  notvvitl^tanding  this  weakness,  these  believers 
are  includedamong  those  who  are  called  "Saints" 
at  the  outsetof  the  Epistle.     The  third  class  is  de- 
scribed by  th\  word  "  spiritual " ;  this  refers  to  the 
man  who  is  wlking  in  the  Holy  Spirit  in  fellowship 
with  God  in  Cnjst.     And  so  the  believer  is  intended 
to  become  mor^nd  more  thoroughly  separated  unto 


122  PE0VI8I0N 

God,  consecrated,  dedicated  in  heart  and  life,  and 
more  and  more  conformed  to  the  image  of  his  Mas- 
ter. This  is  the  meaning  of  "  growth  in  grace." 
The  believer  is  not  only  to  be  free,  as  in  Justifica- 
tion, from  the  penalty  of  sin,  but  also  free  from  the 
power,  the  bondage,  the  dominion  of  it.  This  is  a 
pathway  for  the  whole  of  the  Christian  life,  and  it  is 
sometimes  described  as  "  progressive  sanctificaton." 
It  is  clearly  taught  by  the  Apostle  in  such  a  passage 
as  2  Corinthians  iii.  17,  18.  This  process  goes  on  to 
the  close  of  the  believer's  life  on  earth  (Eph.  v.  -5,  26), 
and  will  be  completed  when  the  Lord  Himself  ap- 
pears (Eph.  v.  27;  see  also  Phil,  iii.  20,  21). 

This,  then,  is  the  place  and  force  of  San(tification 
in  the  Christian  life.  It  refers  exclusive^  to  one 
who  is  already  saved,  and  who  is  desirois  of  being 
delivered  from  the  power  and  control  of  -in,  as  well 
as  from  its  penalty,  and  made  more  anc  more  god- 
like. This  state  requires  a  man  to  reali?,  first  of  all, 
his  position  in  Christ,  and  God's  purpoe  concerning 
him,  and  then  to  be  conscious  that  Godequires  what 
He  has  purposed.  Thereby  Sanctificrion  is  seen  to 
be  the  logical  and  inevitable  outcome  f  Justification. 

III.    The  Provision  for  Sancification 
It   will  again   help   us   to   undertand   St.  Paul'* 
teaching  in  Romans  vi.  to  viii.  iftve  consider  the 


SANCTIFICATION  128 

Divine  provision  for  our  becoming  holy.  The 
Apostle  leads  up  to  it  by  a  question  (Rom.  vi.  i). 
Some  one  is  assumed  to  object  to  his  teaching  on 
Justification,  and  to  ask :  "  Does  not  this  doctrine 
of  righteousness  by  faith  encourage  to  sin  ?  "  The 
Apostle  answers  by  showing  that  the  death  of  Christ 
has  two  results :  (i)  it  meets  a  guilty  past ;  (2)  it  also 
meets  a  sinful  present.  It  thus  deals  not  only  with 
sins  (plural),  but  also  with  sin  (singular),  not  only 
with  the  fruit,  but  also  with  the  root.  Sin  is  Death, 
Disease,  and  Departure;  and  Righteousness  must 
meet  all  these  three  aspects.  In  chapter  iii.  21  to 
chapter  v.  11,  the  main  thought  is  of  sin  as  Death ; 
in  chapter  v.  12  to  chapter  viii.  39,  of  sin  as  Disease  ; 
while  in  chapters  xii.  to  xvi.  the  ruhng  idea  is  of  sin 
as  Departure.  And  thus  the  Apostle  deals  with 
Justification,  Sanctification,  Consecration. 

Now  let  us  observe  by  a  careful  study  of  the 
general  teaching  of  chapters  vi.-viii.  what  provision 
God  has  made  for  our  Sanctification.  It  is  assumed, 
first  of  all,  that  the  person  to  be  sanctified  is  already 
justified,  according  to  the  teaching  of  chapter  iii. 
21-26  and  chapter  iv.  5.  Then  comes  the  needed 
provision  for  the  sin  which  still  dwells  in  the  believer. 
The  subject  is  introduced  generally  in  chapter  v. 
12-21  by  the  contrast  instituted  between  Adam  and 
Christ.     Through  Adam  we  have  become  involved 


124  PROVISION 

in  sin  and  death,  and  through  Christ  wc  are  involved 
in  righteousness  and  life.  Then  in  chapter  vi.  is 
shown  the  Christian's  relation  to  sin.  First  comes 
the  teaching  that  continuance  in  sin  is  utterly  impos- 
sible (verses  I-14).  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
believer  has  union  with  Christ  in  His  death  and  life. 
This  does  not  refer  to  personal  experience,  but  to 
actual  fact  as  accomplished  by  Christ.  It  is  this  that 
gives  force  to  the  first  key-word  of  the  passage, 
"  Know  ye  not."  As  Christ's  death  changes  our 
relation  to  God  and  provides  for  our  justification,  or 
legal  discharge,  so  it  also  is  intended  to  change  our 
character,  and  it  does  this  by  means  of  a  spiritual 
union  with  Christ.  And  herein  hes  the  force  of  the 
second  key-word,  the  important  word  •'  reckon " 
(verse  1 1),  a  word  which  means  to  count  upon  a  thing 
as  true.  When  Christ  died  we  are  reckoned  by  God 
as  having  died  with  Him,  and  when  He  rose  again 
we  are  regarded  as  having  risen.  This  reckoning  of 
God  is  to  be  met  by  a  corresponding  reckoning  on 
our  part,  and  we  are  to  believe  concerning  Christ 
what  God  teaches  us  has  actually  taken  place. 
Thus  when  it  is  realized  that  we  are  spiritually 
united  with  Christ  in  His  death  and  life.  Justifica- 
tion by  faith  is  shown  to  involve  no  license  to  sin. 

Then  the  Apostle  goes  on  to  teach  with  equal 
clearness  that  continuance  in  acts  of  sinning  is  equally 


SANCTIFICATION  125 

impossible  (verses  15-23).  This  is  shown  by  the 
thought  of  subjection  to  Christ  as  a  Master,  to- 
gether with  the  contrast  between  the  old  hfe  and 
the  new.  In  the  past  we  were  slaves  to  sin  ;  in  the 
present  we  are  servants  to  holiness,  and  it  follows 
that  the  old  master  and  the  old  service  are  absolutely 
impossible.  It  is  at  this  point  that  the  third  key- 
word of  the  chapter  is  vital  and  important,  "  yield  " 
(verse  19).  As  we  have  reckoned  ourselves  dead 
to  sin  and  alive  unto  God,  we  are  to  surrender 
ourselves  to  Him  as  those  who  are  alive  from  the 
dead,  and  every  faculty  of  our  being  is  to  be  pre- 
sented to  Him  for  His  use  and  service.  And 
thus  Justification  by  Faith  is  seen  to  be  an  in- 
troduction and  an  incentive  to  holiness,  and  while 
the  Christian  has  liberty  from  sin,  he  has  no 
license  to  sin.  It  is  particularly  important  to  note 
that  chapter  vi.  14  sums  up  the  entire  subject  of  these 
three  chapters,  "  Sin  shall  not  have  dominion  over 
you,  for  ye  are  not  under  law,  but  under  grace." 
"  Sin  shall  not  have  dominion  over  you  "  :  this  is  the 
teaching  of  chapter  vi.  "Ye  are  not  under  law": 
this  is  the  teaching,  as  we  shall  see,  of  chapter  vii. 
"  But  under  grace  "  :  this  is  the  teaching  of  chapter 
viii. 

Then  follows  the  important  and  essential  question 
of  the  relation  of  the  Christian  to  law  (chap.  vii.). 


126  PEOVISION 

In  this  connection  it  is  necessary  to  remember  that 
**  Law  "  stands  here  for  self-effort,  the  endeavour  of 
self  by  its  own  unaided  powers  to  do  the  will  of  God. 
Up  to  the  present  the  Apostle  has  taught  that  the 
Grace  of  God  in  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ 
provides  for  victory  over  sin.  But  now  he  has  to 
deal  with  the  experience  of  struggles  against  indwell- 
ing sin.  The  problem  may  be  stated  thus  :  if  the  be- 
liever need  not  and  ought  not  to  sin  (chap,  vi.),  can 
he  not,  nevertheless,  make  himself  holy?  The 
answer  is  a  very  decided  negative,  and  is  shown  in 
two  main  lines  of  teaching.  In  the  first  place,  the 
old  life  is  seen  to  be  fruitless,  and  the  new  life  alone 
fruitful  (verses  1-6).  The  Apostle's  argument  pro- 
ceeds along  the  line  of  the  illustration  of  marriage, 
and,  without  going  into  the  detail  of  his  treatment, 
the  threefold  thought  is  perfectly  clear :  Union,  Fruit, 
Service.  This  is  intended  to  teach  the  result  of  our 
union  with  Christ  in  His  death  and  life ;  and  just  as 
he  had  spoken  of  "  newness  of  life  "  (chap.  vi.  4),  so, 
now,  he  emphasizes  "  newness  of  spirit  "  (chap.  vii.  6). 
Then,  in  an  important  passage  (verses  7-25),  he  goes 
on  to  show  that  the  believer  cannot  possibly  sanctify 
himself  by  effort  of  his  own.  Law  may  order,  but  it 
cannot  effect ;  it  commands,  but  does  not  equip ;  it 
condemns,  but  does  not  enable.  The  struggles 
within  cannot  possibly  bring  about  holiness,  because 


SANCTIFICATION  127 

of  the  fact  and  power  of  indwelling  sin.  And  thus, 
as  a  man  contemplates  himself  in  his  efforts  to  be 
holy,  he  is  necessarily  led  to  utter  despair  (verse  24). 
Hence,  just  as  the  Apostle  had  previously  taught  that 
man,  by  no  effort  of  his  own,  can  justify  himself 
(chap,  iii.),  so  now,  with  equal  clearness,  he  teaches 
that  man  cannot  sanctify  himself  (chap.  vii.).  At 
this  point,  however,  it  is  necessary  to  guard  against  a 
misconception.  The  terrible  struggle  depicted  in 
chapter  vii.  is  not  to  be  understood  as  giving  an  ex- 
cuse for  sin,  for  this  chapter  does  not  depict  the 
normal  Christian  life,  which  is  one  of  victory.  The 
struggle  here  described  cannot  possibly  make  sinning 
inevitable,  or  else  no  real  conquest  and  no  real  holi- 
ness would  be  possible.  We  shall  see  this  as  we  study 
the  next  chapter. 

The  last  and  most  important  aspect  of  the  present 
subject  is  the  Christian's  relation  to  Divine  grace,  as 
brought  out  in  chapter  viii.  The  Apostle  has  al- 
ready stated  that  the  believer  is  "  under  grace " 
(chap.  vi.  14),  and  in  this  chapter  it  is  shown  what 
the  grace  does.  Christ's  Redemption,  while  it  covers 
the  past,  does  not  leave  the  present  unprotected,  and 
it  is,  therefore,  wrong  to  say  that  the  Christian  can- 
not help  sinning.  A  modern  writer '  says  that  the 
original  meaning  of  the  word  rendered  "  condem- 

1  Deissmann,  "  Bible  Studies,"  p.  264. 


128  PEOVISION 

nation  "  (chap.  viii.  i)  refers  to  civil  disability  and 
means  that  there  was  no  legal  embarrassment  on  land 
which  could  therefore  be  conveyed  from  one  person 
to  another.  This  has  been  aptly  rendered  into  the 
language  of  spiritual  experience  by  another  writer ' 
who  translates  the  word  by  "  handicap,"  so  that 
the  verse  will  read :  "  There  is,  therefore,  now 
no  '  handicap '  to  them  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus," 
It  is  of  vital  importance  that  this  should  be 
seen,  experienced  and  enjoyed.  Just  as  chapter  vii. 
teaches  the  impossibility  of  holiness  in  man's  way,  so 
chapter  viii.  is  equally  clear  about  the  possibility  of 
holiness  in  God's  way.  And  as  in  chapter  vii.  "  I  " 
occurs  thirty-three  times,  without  a  single  reference 
to  the  Holy  Spirit,  so  in  chapter  viii.  there  are  no  less 
than  twenty  references  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  prac- 
tically none  referring  to  ourselves.  It  is  impossible, 
and  for  our  present  purpose  unnecessary,  to  outline 
the  whole  of  the  teaching  of  the  chapter,  but  it  will 
be  worth  while  looking  generally  at  what  the  Apostle 
teaches.  If  special  attention  be  given  to  the  first  four 
verses,  as,  in  some  respects,  the  heart  of  the  teach- 
ing,^ every  disability  or  "  handicap  "  will  be  seen  to 
be  more  than  met  by  the  Divine  provision.  The  dis- 
ability of  the  flesh  through  sin  is  met  by  the  power 
of  the  Spirit  (verses    i-ii).      The  disability  of  the 

*  Rev.  Harrington  C.  Lees,  *  See  page  42. 


SANCTIFICATION  12d 

heart  through  fear  is  met  by  the  presence  of  the 
Spirit  (verses  12-173).  The  disabiUty  of  circum- 
stances through  persecution  is  met  by  the  peace  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  (verses  17b- 30).  And  the  disabihty 
of  Hfe  through  opposition  is  met  by  the  possession  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  (verses  31-39)- 

And  so  the  Apostle  shows  that  righteousness  in 
Christ  means  victory  over  sin  (chap,  vi.),  that  this 
victory  is  impossible  by  any  effort  of  self  which  is 
powerless  for  holiness  (chap,  vii.),  and  that  this  is 
blessedly  possible  in  and  through  the  Spirit,  who 
equips,  assures  and  triumphs  in  and  for  us  over  the 
flesh,  over  sufferings,  and  over  opposition  (chap, 
viii.). 

Now  we  are  able  to  understand  what  the  Apostle 
means  by  the  believer  being  "  free  from  sin."  He 
uses  this  term  in  three  places,  and  each  time  in  a  dif- 
ferent sense.  First  of  all,  there  is  freedom  from  the 
penalty  of  sin  (Rom.  vi.  7).  This  is  the  judicial  act 
of  God  in  justifying  the  repentant  and  believing 
sinner.  It  does  not  refer  to  a  moral  change  of 
heart,  but  simply  to  the  act  and  fact  of  God  account- 
ing the  believer  as  righteous  in  Christ,  and  therefore 
released  from  the  penalty  of  sin  by  reason  of  what 
Christ  has  done.  Then  comes  the  thought  of  free- 
dom from  ih^  practice  of  sin,  by  a  change  of  service 
(chap.  vi.   17,  18).     The  believer  is  regarded  as  hav- 


130  PEO  VISION 

ing  left  the  service  of  one  master  for  that  of  another, 
and  under  the  new  Master  there  is  no  possibiUty  of 
any  claim  on  the  part  of  the  old,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
a  new  service  in  the  practice  of  righteousness  (verses 
20-22).  Then,  lastly,  comes  the  thought  of  free- 
dom from  the  power  of  sin  (chap.  viii.  2).  A  might- 
ier force  has  entered  into  the  life  of  the  believer,  that 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which,  having  set  him  free  from 
the  dominion  of  sin,  enables  him  to  fulfill  the  will  of 
God,  and  do  that  which  is  right  and  true.  And  thus 
the  righteous  requirements  of  the  law  are  fulfilled  in 
him  who  walks  "  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the 
Spirit "  (verse  4).  This  is  the  teaching  found  else- 
where, when  the  Apostle  says,  "  walk  by  the  Spirit, 
and  ye  shall  not  fulfill  the  lusts  of  the  flesh  "  (Gal. 
V.  16).  And  it  is  this  presence  and  power  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  within  the  heart  that,  in  spite  of  the 
presence  of  indwelling  sin,  assures  the  soul  of  vic- 
tory. There  is,  perhaps,  no  passage  more  important 
for  this  purpose  than  one  that  is  often  misread 
through  failure  to  see  the  precise  point  of  the  origi- 
nal, "  The  flesh  lusteth  against  the  Spirit,  and  the 
Spirit  against  the  flesh,  and  these  are  contrary  one 
to  the  other,  so  that  ye  may  not  do  the  things  that 
ye  would"  (Gal.  v.  18).  It  is  the  presence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  that  prevents  the  believer  from  doing 
the  evil  that  he  would  otherwise  do,  because  the  law 


SANCTIFICATION  131 

of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  gives  him  the  vic- 
tory over  the  law  of  sin  and  death. 

All  this  gives  special  point  to  the  question  often 
asked  to-day,  whether  sinning  is  inevitable  to  a  be  • 
liever.  Must  Christians  sin  ?  The  answer  is,  "  No, 
certainly  not."  This  is  the  teaching  of  the  Apostle 
John,  for  he  says:  "These  things  write  I  unto  you 
that  ye  may  not  sin"  (i  John  ii.  i,  R.  V.).  If, 
therefore,  this  means  what  it  says,  it  indicates  that  he 
wrote  that  Epistle,  with  all  its  wonderful  depth  and 
wealth  of  teaching,  for  the  very  purpose  of  showing 
Christians  how  they  might  live  without  sinning. 

The  question  of  the  relation  of  the  believer  to 
sin  is  one  of  very  great  importance ;  indeed,  it  is 
scarcely  possible  to  exaggerate  the  momentous 
issues  that  spring  from  a  true  conception  of  what 
the  Bible  teaches  on  the  subject.  It  will  simplify 
matters  if  we  limit  ourselves  at  this  point  almost  en- 
tirely to  the  teaching  of  the  First  Epistle  of  John, 
especially  because  there  is  so  much  in  that  part  of 
God's  word  which  bears  on  the  matter.  The  Chris- 
tian life  is  intended  to  be  one  of  continual  safety. 

It  is  a  subject  that  needs  careful  study,  and,  there- 
fore, careful  handling ;  but  we  shall  be  perfectly  safe 
if  we  proceed  along  the  line  of  God's  Word,  neither 
going  in  front  nor  dropping  behind.  First  of  all,  it  is 
essential  to  study  every  passage  in  the  Epistle  where 


132  PROVISION 

the  word  "  sin  "  occurs  :  Chapter  i.  7,  "  Sin  "  ;  i.  8, 
"  No  sin  "  ;  i.  9,  "  Sins  "  ;  i.  10,  ••  Not  sinned  "  ;  ii,  i, 
"  Sin  not "  ;  iii.  8,  "  Is  sinning  "  ;  iii.  9,  "  Cannot 
sin."  It  is  only  when  we  look  at  all  these  passages 
that  we  are  in  a  position,  by  induction,  to  arrive  at 
the  truth  concerning  our  relation  to  sin.  We  find 
that  there  is  a  clear  distinction  to  be  kept  in  mind 
between  "  sin  "  and  •'  sins,"  between  the  root  and  the 
fruit,  between  the  principle  and  the  practice.  We 
observe  this  as  we  study  three  verses  :  "  If  we  say 
that  we  have  no  sin  "  (i.  8).  To  "  have  sin  "  is  to 
possess  the  principle.  "  If  we  say  that  we  have  not 
sinned"  (i.  10).  To  "sin"  is  to  express  that  prin- 
ciple in  practice.  Now  notice,  "  If  any  man  sin 
(ii.  i).  There  is  an  alteration  from  the  "  we"  of  i.  8 
and  10  to  the  •'  any  man  "  of  ii.  i.  Possibly  the 
Apostle  rather  shrank  from  saying,  "  If  we  sin,"  be- 
cause the  ideal  of  the  Christian  life  is  sinlessness. 
What  that  sinlessness  means  we  shall  see  presently, 
but  we  must  notice  that  there  are  parallel  words,  and 
three  lines  of  teaching  : 

"  If  we  say  we  have  no  sin  "  : 
"  If  we  say  we  have  not  sinned  "  : 
"  If  any  man  sin." 

The  reference  to  the  Christian  is  perfectly  clear; 
and  "  If  any  man  sin  "  shows  that  even  a  saint  may 
sin.     But  if  the  saint  should  sin — mark  that — ••  We 


SANCTIFICATION  1^3 

have  an  advocate  with  the  Father."  There  is  a  per- 
fect propitiation  provided :  "  If  any  man  sin,  we 
have  an  advocate."  There  is  no  allowance  for  sin, 
but  a  perfect  provision  in  case  we  do  sin;  no  need 
to  sin,  no  right  to  sin,  no  compromise  with  sin,  no 
license,  but  a  provision  in  case  we  do.  On  board 
ship  the  provision  of  life-belts  and  life-boats  is  not  as- 
sociated with  any  intention  to  have  a  shipwreck,  but 
they  are  there  in  case  of  need.  When  it  is  said 
here,  "  If  any  man  sin,  we  have  an  advocate,"  it  is 
the  provision  in  case  of  need.  There  are  two  Advo- 
cates. The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Advocate  with 
the  Father,  and  the  same  word  is  used  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  St.  John — He  is  the  Advocate  within  (John 
xiv.  1 6,  Greek).  So  that  we  have  Christ's  perfect 
provision  for  us,  and  the  Holy  Spirit's  perfect  pro- 
vision in  us. 

There  are  three  views  about  the  relation  of  sin  to 
the  believer,  and  the  believer  to  sin,  which  have  a 
special  bearing  on  our  life.  Two  of  them  are  wrong; 
one  is  right.  By  the  use  of  the  ordinary  terms  we 
may  see  what  these  three  views  mean. 

The  first  is  often  called  Eradication,  and  means 
the  removal  of  the  sinful  principle  within.  Now, 
this  goes  too  far;  it  goes  beyond  Scripture,  and  it  is 
contrary  to  experience.  "  If  we  say  that  we  have  no 
sin,  we  deceive  ourselves,"  but  we  do  not  deceive 


134  PROVISION 

anybody  else.  Ask  any  one  who  teaches  eradication 
this  question — a  question  that  goes  to  the  very  basis 
of  the  whole  matter — "  Do  you  believe  in  the  per- 
petual need  of  the  Atonement  to  cover  any  defect 
from  the  moment  of  supposed  eradication  ?  Is  the 
Atonement  necessary  for  the  rest  of  your  life?" 
"  Certainly,"  is  the  answer.  To  which  the  reply  is 
obvious :  "  Then  you  are  a  sinner."  As  long  as  we 
need  the  Atonement  there  is  sin,  whether  in  defect  or 
otherwise.  For  we  must  never  forget  that  sinlessness 
is  not  merely  the  absence  of  sinning ;  it  is  the  pres- 
ence of  the  complete  and  perfect  will  of  God  fulfilled 
in  our  life,  and  to  mention  this  is  to  see  at  once  the 
need  of  the  Atoning  Sacrifice,  to  the  very  end  of  our 
days.  ' 

The  second  view  is  called  by  the  term  Suppres- 
sion. Now,  if  eradication  goes  too  far,  this  does  not 
go  far  enough,  because  suppression  emphasizes  that 
fighting  and  struggling  which  will  almost  inevitably 
land  us  in  defeat  again  and  again.  This  is  the  error 
of  those  who  think  Romans  vii.  depicts  the  normal 
Christian  life.  Romans  viii.  begins  with  "  No  con- 
demnation." It  closes  with  "  No  separation."  But 
between  the  two  there  is  "  No  defeat."  This  is  the 
true  and  proper  Christian  experience.  Suppression, 
therefore,  is  inadequate,  miserably  inadequate,  to  the 
truth  of  God. 


SAKCTIFICATION  135 

The  real  word  and  the  real  thing  is  Counteraction. 
Not  eradication — that  goes  too  far ;  not  suppression 
— that  does  not  go  far  enough ;  but  counteraction, 
which  just  expresses  the  truth.  "  The  law  of  the 
Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  hath  made  me  free  from 
the  law  of  sin  and  death."  There  are  two  laws,  and 
just  as  gravitation  can  be  counteracted  by  volition, 
the  higher  law  of  the  will,  so  the  lower  law  of  sin  and 
.  death  can  be  counteracted  by  the  presence  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  in  our  hearts.  That  is  why,  as  we  have 
seen,  in  Romans  vii.  there  are  about  thirty  occasions 
where  we  find  "  I,"  "  I,"  "  I,"  with  no  reference  to 
the  Holy  Spirit,  while  in  Romans  viii.  we  get  all 
those  references  to  the  Holy  Spirit  and  almost  noth- 
ing about  *'  I,"  "  I."  It  is  the  law  of  counteraction. 
A  little  girl,  so  it  is  said,  was  once  asked  by  her 
teacher :  "  What  did  St.  Paul  mean  by  the  words,  *  I 
keep  under  my  body  '  ?  How  did  he  do  it  ?  "  Her 
answer  was,  "  By  keeping  his  soul  on  top," — that  is 
the  law  of  counteraction.  We  must  not  dream  that 
the  sinful  principle  is  eradicated,  and  we  must  not 
trouble  about  suppressing  it.  We  must  allow  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  come  into  our  life,  and  reign  supreme 
in  the  throne-room  of  the  will,  so  that  there  may  be 
this  constant,  continuous,  blessed,  and  increasing 
counteraction.  That  is  the  word,  or  something  like 
it,  that  St.  Paul  had  in  mind  when  he  said,  "  Our  old 


18«  PEOVI8ION 

man  (our  unrcgcncrate  self)  was  crucified  with  him, 
that  the  body  of  sin  might  be  rendered  inoperative 
(not  destroyed  or  annihilated)."  The  Greek  word 
used,  katargeo,  always  means  to  rob  of  power,  to 
render  inoperative,  to  put  out  of  employment,  to 
place  among  the  unemployed.  This  is  why  St.  Paul 
always  stopped  short  of  eradication,  and  yet  is 
never  content  with  suppression,  and  this  is  what 
is  meant  by  saying  that  our  life  is  a  life  of  continual 
safety. 

Some  of  us  say  every  Sunday,  •'  Vouchsafe,  O 
Lord,  to  keep  us  this  day  without  sin."  This  is  the 
teaching  of  counteraction.  "  Grant  that  this  day  we 
fall  into  no  sin."  This  is  the  law  of  counteraction. 
"  That  we  may  perfectly  love  Thee,  and  worthily  mag- 
nify Thy  holy  name."  How  marvellously  those  old 
writers  knew  the  secret  of  holiness  !  So  the  Christian, 
while  he  continues  to  have  the  principle  of  sin  in 
him,  need  not,  and  ought  not  to  express  that  princi- 
ple in  practice.  But  if  he  does,  there  is  a  provision, 
"  Jesus  Christ  the  Righteous."  Not  Jesus  Christ  the 
loving,  or  the  merciful,  but  "  the  righteous."  Christ 
deals  with  us  on  a  righteous  level,  and  treats  the  sins 
of  His  people  by  a  righteous  principle.  He  has  no 
favourites,  and  makes  no  qualifications  or  allowances. 
Sin  is  sin,  whether  in  God's  people  or  not.  The 
provision  is  there  in  case  we  should  need  it. 


SANCTIFICATION  137 

IV.  The  Practice  of  Sanctification 
In  view  of  all  that  has  been  said,  it  becomes  a  very 
practical  and  definite  question  as  to  how  this  Sancti- 
fication can  be  realized.  What  is  its  method  ?  How 
is  this  provision  to  be  made  part  of  the  personal  life 
of  the  believer  ?  To  this  question  there  are  two  an- 
swers, according  as  we  consider  one  or  other  aspect. 
The  Divine  side.  St.  Paul  speaks  of  our  being 
"  sanctified  in  Christ "  (i  Cor.  i,  2).  He  also  says 
that  Christ  is  made  unto  us  "  Righteousness,  Sancti- 
fication and  Redemption "  (i  Cor.  i.  30).  These 
three  truths  sum  up  the  whole  of  the  believer's  life 
and  of  Christ's  relation  to  him.  The  one  Gift  of 
God  is  the  Person  of  Christ  who  is,  from  different 
aspects,  our  Righteousness  in  regard  to  the  past,  our 
Sanctification  in  regard  to  the  present,  and  our  Re- 
demption in  regard  to  the  future.  He  is  our  Sancti- 
fication. A  complete  work  in  this  respect  has  been 
wrought  for  us  by  Him  ;  as  complete  as  our  Justifi- 
cation, "  Sanctified  through  the  offering  of  the  body 
of  Jesus  Christ  once  for  all  "  (Heb.  x.  10).  So  that 
Christ  is  our  Sanctification,  the  Holy  Spirit  is  our 
Sanctifier,  and  we  are  the  Sanctified.  The  possession 
of  Christ  as  Saviour  and  Sanctification  is  made  real 
to  us  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  glorifies  Christ  to  our 
souls  according  as  we  need  Him. 

The  human  side.     The  Holy  Spirit  does  His  work 


138  PROVISION 

through  the  Word  of  God,  "  Sanctify  them  through 
Thy  truth  :  Thy  word  is  truth  "  (John  xvii.  17)  ; 
"  That  they  may  be  sanctified  through  the  truth  " 
(John  xvii.  19).  The  truth  of  God  is  the  great  in- 
strument used  by  the  Spirit.  Through  this  we  obtain 
at  once  a  knowledge  of  sin,  of  salvation,  of  sonship, 
of  the  indwelling  of  the  Spirit,  and  of  the  real  value 
and  power  of  the  Sacrifice  of  Christ.  St.  Paul's  em- 
phasis in  his  great  chapter  on  Sanctification  is  on 
knowledge,  "  Know  ye  not "  (see  Rom.  vi.  3,  6,  9, 
16;  vii.  i).  This  thought  of  the  truth  of  God  in 
relation  to  our  Sanctification  is  found  in  a  number  of 
passages  in  the  New  Testament,  and  they  all  teach 
the  same  lesson.  "  Ye  are  clean  through  the  word  " 
(John  XV.  3) ;  "  The  washing  of  water  by  the  word  " 
(Eph.  v.  26) ;  "  Seeing  ye  have  purified  your  souls 
by  obeying  the  truth  "  (i  Pet.  i.  22). 

Associated  with  the  Word  of  God  is  faith,  which  is 
our  response  to  the  Divine  revelation.  Faith  appro- 
priates Christ  for  Sanctification  just  as  it  did  for 
Justification.  This  is  the  meaning  of  St.  Paul's 
words,  "  Sanctified  by  faith  "  (Acts  xxvi.  18).  We 
can  also  see  the  same  truth  if  we  consider  the  force 
of  the  Apostle's  "  as  "  and  "  so,"  "  As  ye  have  there- 
fore received  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,  so  walk  ye  in 
Him  "  (Col.  ii.  6).  How  did  we  receive  Christ  ?  By 
faith.     Even  so  we  are  to  walk — by  faith.     As  there 


SANCTIFICATION  139 

are  four  factors  at  conversion,  so  there  are  four  in  the 
Christian  hie — the  Lord,  the  Spirit,  the  Word,  and 
Faitli.  Faith,  as  an  act,  receives  Christ  for  Justifica- 
tion. Faith,  as  an  attitude,  appropriates  Christ  for 
Sanctification.  The  Lord  provides  for  us  a  new  rela- 
tionship and  also  a  new  nature,  and  these  two  to- 
gether sum  up  the  meaning  of  Righteousness.  This 
holy  nature  is  a  gift  bestowed  on  our  souls  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  is  accepted  by  faith,  and  maintained 
by  faith.  Then  in  turn  will  come  the  graces  of  love 
and  hope.  Faith  looks  up  to  the  living  Lord  ;  love 
looks  round  on  those  for  whom  He  died  ;  and  hope 
looks  on  to  the  coming  of  our  great  God  and  Sa- 
viour. And  thus  the  whole  Christian  life,  past,  pres- 
ent, and  future,  is  realized  by  the  believer. 

An  error  very  prevalent  among  uninstructed 
Christians,  and  one  to  be  guarded  against  constantly, 
is  that  of  practically  assuming  that  Christ  is  to  be 
accepted  by  faith,  and  then  maintained  only  by 
fighting.  Just  as  if  Christianity  were  pardon  by  the 
Saviour's  free  gift,  and  purification  by  the  believer's 
constant  struggling.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  both 
Justification  and  Sanctification  in  the  one  Lord,  and 
both  are  to  be  appropriated  and  maintained  by  faith. 
Holiness  is  not  an  achievement,  but  a  gift,  and  in  the 
acceptance,  appropriation,  enjoyment  and  use  of  the 
gift  will  be  found  our  growing  Sanctification.     Sane- 


140  PEOVISION 

tification  is  first  and  fundamentally  a  position  in 
which  we  have  been  placed  in  Christ  by  His  Re- 
demption, and  in  which  we  are  to  realize  experi- 
mentally all  that  is  involved  in  what  He  has  done, 
Christ  is  all — pardoning,  justifying,  sanctifying  ;  and 
faith  means  surrendering,  yielding,  dedicating,  trust- 
ing, using,  obeying.  The  Christian  life  from  first  to 
last  is  the  Christ-life  and  a  life  of  faith. 

It  is  significant  that  almost  everything  is  associated 
with  faith.  Thus,  we  are  "  justified  by  faith  "  (Rom. 
iii.  28 ;  v.  I),  and  saved  by  faith  (Eph.  ii.  8).  We 
"  Hve  by  faith "  (Gal.  ii.  20) ;  we  have  •'  access  to 
God  by  faith  "  (Rom.  v.  2) ;  "  we  walk  by  faith  " 
(2  Cor.  v.  7)  ;  our  hearts  are  "  purified  by  faith  "  (Acts 
XV.  9)  ;  we  overcome  by  faith  (i  John  v.  4),  and  we 
receive  the  Holy  Spirit  by  faith  (Gal.  iii.  14).  When 
the  soul  learns  this  lesson  of  the  all-embracing  nature 
and  necessity  of  faith,  it  has  become  possessed  of  the 
true  secret  of  Christian  living.  Faith  receives  Christ, 
rests  on  Him,  reckons  on  His  faithfulness,  and  re- 
alizes His  Presence.  Faith  appropriates  Divine  grace, 
applies  it  to  momentary  need,  appreciates  its  value, 
and  abides  in  it  every  moment.  It  is  of  no  wonder 
that  the  Apostle  lays  such  stress  on  the  life  of  faith 
in  the  great  chapter  known  as  "  the  roll  call  of  faith  " 
(Heb.  xi.),  by  saying  that  "  without  faith  it  is  impos- 
sible to  please  God  "  (verse  6). 


VIII 

CONSECRATION 

WE  have  already  seen  something  of  the 
meaning  of  Justification  and  Sanctifica- 
tion.  Justification  is  the  Divine  pro- 
vision of  a  new  position  for  the  soul  in  Christ,  in- 
volving a  new  relationship.  Sanctification  is  the 
Divine  provision  of  a  new  condition  for  the  soul 
through  Christ,  involving  a  new  fellowship.  The 
connection  between  the  two  is  found  in  Regenera- 
tion, understood  as  the  Divine  gift  of  new  life  in 
Christ  which  expresses  itself  in  the  new  birth  of  the 
Spirit. 

Now  we  have  observed  that  both  Justification  and 
Sanctification  are  complete  in  Christ  when  viewed 
from  the  Divine  standpoint,  for  Christ  as  the  Wisdom 
of  God  is  made  to  us  Righteousness  (or  Justification) 
for  the  past,  Sanctification  for  the  present,  and  Re- 
demption for  the  future  (i  Cor.  i.  30).  But  the  real- 
ization of  their  results  in  personal  experience  and 
spiritual  blessing  is  often  gradual.  Justification  is 
complete  and  eternal  and  admits  of  no  degrees;  we 
are  not  more  or  less  justified  but  "justified  from  all 

141 


142  PEOVISION 

things  "  at  once  and  forever.  This  is  so,  quite  apart 
from  our  experience  of  it.  Sanctification,  too,  in  the 
sense  of  God  having  separated  us  for  Himself  is 
equally  complete  in  His  intention  and  purpose,  but 
the  realization  of  it  in  our  lives  is  gradual  and  pro- 
gressive. The  act  by  which  we  accept  this  Divine 
position,  purpose  and  provision  develops  into  an 
attitude,  a  process,  a  progress.  We  obtain  in  order 
to  maintain,  retain  and  attain.  At  this  point  is  seen 
the  New  Testament  distinction  between  Consecration 
as  God's  separation  of  us  for  Himself,  and  as  involv- 
ing the  consequent  purification  of  soul  necessary  for 
His  use  of  us.  The  latter  is  included  in  the  former 
and  arises  out  of  it.  Because  God  marks  us  as  His 
own,  He  prepares  us  for  His  service  by  conforming 
us  to  the  image  of  His  Son.  It  is  to  this  truth  of 
the  gradual  and  progressive  maintenance,  retention 
and  attainment  that  we  must  now  address  ourselves. 

When  the  matter  of  Justification  is  settled,  and 
Sanctification  is  realized  as  the  will  of  God  for  the 
believer  (i  Thess.  iv.  3),  the  question  at  once  arises, 
How  can  this  will  of  God  be  done,  how  can  the  hfe 
of  Sanctification  be  lived  ?  The  one  answer,  and 
that  both  fundamental  and  inclusive,  is.  By  the  real- 
ization of  our  true  and  abiding  relation  to  God  and 
our  position  before  Him,  as  not  only  redeemed  from 
sin,  but  also  redeemed  for  God's  possession  and  serv- 


CONSECRATION  143 

ice.  In  the  realization,  acceptance  and  maintenance 
of  tills  position  will  be  found  one  of  the  secrets  of 
power  and  blessing  in  the  spiritual  life.  It  must  be 
considered  from  the  Divine  and  human  standpoints. 

I.  The  Divine  Requirement 
We  can  see  this  very  clearly  in  Romans  xiv.  9. 
Let  us  face  it  carefully  and  definitely.  "  To  this  end 
Christ  both  died  and  rose  and  revived,  that  He  might 
be  Lord."  This  means  "  that  He  might  be  Lord  " 
of  our  lives,  Master  of  our  entire  existence.  The 
"absolute  monarchy  "  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  one  con- 
dition of  genuine  Christian  living.  We  have  the 
same  truth  in  Colossians  i.  18.  "  He  is  the  head 
.  .  .  that  in  all  things  He  might  have  the  preemi- 
nence." Consider  also  i  Peter  iv.  11,  "That  God 
in  all  things  may  be  glorified."  And  note  that 
St.  Paul's  most  frequent  and  fullest  title  for  our  Sa- 
viour is,  "  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  or  "  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord."  Let  us  therefore  settle  it  once  for  all 
and  then  realize  it  continuously,  "  We  are  the  Lord's  " 
(Rom.  xiv.  8). 

The  Old  Testament  affords  unmistakable  illustra- 
tions of  this  great  truth.  We  remember  that  Israel 
was  a  redeemed  people,  delivered  out  of  Egypt ;  but 
delivered  from  Egypt  in  order  to  belong  to  God  for- 
ever.    They  were  brought  out  and  brought  in,  saved 


144  PEOVI8ION 

to  serve.  We  notice  in  Leviticus,  chapter  i.,that  the 
first  offering  named  is  the  Burnt  Offering,  and  as  this 
offering  means  not  Propitiation  but  Consecration,  it 
is  sometimes  wondered  why  we  have  it  first  of  all, 
and  not,  instead,  the  Sin  Offering.  But  we  must 
remember  that  all  the  five  offerings  were  for  the 
people  of  God,  for  believers  and  not  for  the  uncon- 
verted. The  people  of  Israel  were  already  God's 
people  on  the  basis  of  the  Passover  Sacrifice  of  Re- 
demption and  when  this  is  realized  the  place  and 
meaning  of  the  Burnt  Offering  become  clear.  It  is 
the  logical,  immediate,  and  necessary  outcome  of  a 
redeemed  position,  and  as  the  offering  was  entirely 
consumed  by  fire,  so  was  the  life  of  the  offerer  to  be 
wholly  the  Lord's.  We  have  the  New  Testament 
counterpart  of  all  this  in  exact  and  beautiful  sequence 
in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  In  chapter  iii.  we  see 
the  great  Propitiation  whereby  we  are  brought  nigh 
to  God,  forgiven,  justified.  In  chapter  vi.  we  have 
our  identification  with  Christ  in  His  Death  and  Life. 
Then  in  chapter  xii.  comes  the  Burnt  Offering,  the 
"  Living  Sacrifice"  which  is  our  "  logical  "service  (see 
Greek).  It  is  the  "  logical  "  outcome  of  those  "  mer- 
cies of  God  "  by  which  we  are  redeemed  (verses  i 
and  2). 

Another  notable  illustration  of  this  truth  is  found 
in  the  story  of  Joshua  (chap.  v.  13-15).     Israel  had 


OONSECEATION  146 

been  redeemed ;  and  after  the  long  wanderings  and 
backsliding  of  the  wilderness-life  was  again  in  cove- 
nant with  God  on  redemption  ground  (chap. 
V.  2-1 1).  The  ordinances  of  the  Covenant  were 
once  more  fulfilled  and  the  old  position  resumed. 
What  was  now  needed  ?  They  required  a  new  rev- 
elation, a  new  and  distinct  lesson,  a  fresh  and  defi- 
nite step.  But  what  was  this  ?  Not  the  revelation 
of  God  as  Redeemer ;  they  had  that  in  Egypt.  Not 
the  revelation  of  God  as  Teacher ;  they  had  that  at 
Sinai.  What  was  really  necessary  was  the  revelation 
of  God  as  Lord  and  Master.  And  this  is  exactly 
what  was  given,  "  As  Captain  of  the  Lord's  host 
am  I  NOW  come."  He  was  there  not  merely  to  as- 
sist Israel  against  the  Canaanites,  not  simply  to  sec- 
ond Joshua's  efforts,  but  to  take  charge,  to  assume 
full  command,  to  be  Captain,  Master,  Lord. 

The  practical  power  of  this  truth  is  evident.  It  is 
the  secret  of  peace  in  Christian  experience,  and  of 
ever-increasing  peace  in  proportion  as  the  Lordship 
of  Christ  is  realized.  In  Isaiah  ix.  7  it  is  first  gov- 
ernment, then  peace.  If  the  government  be  upon 
His  shoulder,  peace  will  be  the  immediate  and  con- 
stant result.  It  is  also  the  source  of  power.  "  Our 
wills  are  ours  to  make  them  Thine,"  and  in  the  "  ab- 
solute monarchy  "  of  Jesus  Christ  is  power  for  char- 
acter and  conduct.     Just  as  the  riots  in  Trafalgar 


146  PROVISION 

Square,  London,  years  ago  were  quelled  by  the  as- 
sertion of  the  rights  of  the  Crown  to  that  area,  so  the 
assertion  and  acceptance  of  the  "  Crown  rights " 
of  Christ  will  give  peace  and  power  to  the  Christian 
life.  Holiness  is  '•  wholeness  "  and  is  intended  to 
apply  to  each  faculty  of  our  being,  body,  mind,  feel- 
ing, imagination,  conscience,  will,  everything. 

**  That  all  my  powers  with  all  their  might 
In  Thy  sole  glory  may  unite." 

Into  every  part  of  our  Hfe,  inward  and  outward,  this 
Lordship  of  Christ  is  intended  to  enter,  and  when  it 
does,  it  is  the  guarantee  of  blessing.  This,  then,  is 
the  Divine  Requirement,  absolute,  imperative,  uni- 
versal. 

II.  The  Human  Response 
All  God's  revelation  is  conditioned  upon  human 
acceptance  for  full  realization  and  enjoyment.  This 
is  so  at  every  stage.  Christ  as  Saviour  is  only  real- 
ized by  the  acceptance  of  faith,  and  in  the  aspect 
now  before  us  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  respond  to 
the  claim  of  God  upon  our  lives. 

The  first  part  of  the  response  may  be  stated  in  the 
word  "  Receive."  It  is  one  of  the  great  words  of  the 
New  Testament.  "  To  as  many  as  received  Him  " 
(John    i.    12).     "  They  that   receive   abundance   of 


CONSECKATION  147 

grace"  (Rom.  v.  17).  All  through  the  New  Testa- 
ment much  is  made  of  our  receiving,  welcoming  into 
our  lives  God's  full  provision  in  Christ.  •'  As  ye 
received  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord "  (Col.  ii.  6).  It 
means  the  acceptance,  appropriation,  and  application 
of  Christ  by  faith  for  all  our  need. 

The  second  part  of  the  response  may  be  expressed 
by  tlie  word  "  Realize."  "  Know  ye  not "  is  one  of 
the  great  key- words  of  Holiness  (Rom.  vi.  3,  6,  16 ; 
vii.  I  ;  I  Cor.  iii,  16;  v.  6;  vi.  2,  3,  9,  15,  16,  19; 
ix.  24).  This  knowledge  is  intended  to  cover  the 
fact,  nature  and  effect  of  Sin  ;  the  fact,  character  and 
power  of  Salvation,  the  fact,  meaning  and  force  of 
our  union  with  Christ  in  His  Death  and  Resurrec- 
tion, and  the  fact,  force  and  blessedness  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  dwelling  in  us.  Holiness  very  largely  depends 
on  a  full  knowledge  and  a  full  assurance  of  our  posi- 
tion and  provision  in  Christ.  Our  position  is  that 
we  were  slaves  of  Satan  and  sin,  but  we  have  been 
redeemed  by  the  blood  of  Christ.  These  are  facts 
undeniable  and  unalterable.  But  they  carry  with 
them  the  inevitable  consequence  that  we  belong  to 
Him  who  has  paid  the  price ;  we  are  His  property, 
His  possession.  He  is  first  our  Saviour  and  then 
our  Lord,  our  Master,  our  Disposer.  And  this  posi- 
tion and  possession  involve  and  ensure  perfect  pro- 
vision and  our  knowledge  ("  Know  ye  not ")  includes 


148  PROVISION 

this  :  "  That  we  may  know  the  things  that  are  freely 
given  to  us  of  God  "  (i  Cor.  ii.  12).  We  must  real- 
ize all  this,  and  accept  it  in  its  definiteness,  certainty 
and  blessedness.  Then  we  shall  have  taken  the  sec- 
ond step  towards  Holiness. 

From  this  reception  and  realization  we  proceed  to 
the  next  step  which  can  best  be  stated  in  the 
Apostolic  word  "  Reckon  "  (Rom.  vi.  1 1).  This  is 
another  of  the  practical  words  of  holiness.  It  is  a 
"  metaphor  taken  from  accounts."  It  means  that  we 
are  to  regard  as  true  all  that  God  says  about  Christ 
and  about  our  position  in  Christ.  We  are  to  account 
as  belonging  to  us  all  that  Christ  has  done  by  His 
Death  and  Resurrection,  to  reckon,  literally,  this  as 
our  own.  When  He  died,  we  died ;  when  He  was 
buried,  we  were  buried ;  when  He  rose,  we  rose ; 
when  He  ascended,  we  ascended.  We  are  absolutely 
one  with  Him  and  are  to  regard  ourselves  as  so 
united  to  Him  that  all  the  benefits  and  blessings  of 
His  Redemptive  work  shall  become  ours  in  practical 
reality.  So  that  when  temptation  to  sin  comes,  we 
at  once  reckon  ourselves  dead  to  it  and  it  will  have 
no  power  over  us;  when  the  call  to  purity  and 
obedience  is  heard  we  reckon  ourselves  alive  in  and 
with  Christ  to  it,  and  the  power  at  once  comes. 
And  thus,  "  reckoning,"  that  is,  continually  depend- 
ing on  and  appropriating  Christ,  we  find  the  "  in- 


CONSECRATION  149 

numerable  benefits "  of  His  redemption  becoming 
ours  and  the  result  is  holiness. 

Then  we  come  to  the  next  step,  which  may  be 
expressed  by  the  word  "  Surrender."  In  Romans  vi. 
we  have  it  in  the  word  "  Yield."  We  are  called  first 
to  "  yield  ourselves  unto  God  "  (verse  1 3),  and  as  a 
consequence,  to  "  yield  our  members  as  weapons  of 
righteousness  for  God,"  and  as  "  slaves  to  righteous- 
ness with  a  view  to  holiness  "  (verse  19).  The  same 
attitude  and  word  are  found  in  Romans  xii.  2 : 
"  Present."  It  denotes  one  definite  act  of  surrender, 
presentation,  committal  of  ourselves  to  God  as  those 
who  are  His,  and  who  wish  to  show,  in  daily  experi- 
ence, that  this  is  so. 

The  last  stage  of  our  response  is  found  in  the 
word  "  Abide  "  (John  xv.  4).  This  means  the  main- 
tenance of  our  realized  position,  the  act  becoming  an 
attitude,  the  initial  presentation  being  continued  in 
one  long,  constant  attitude  of  full  dedication.  "  And 
now,  little  children,  abide  in  Him  "  (i  John  ii.  28). 
This  means  "  Stay  where  you  are."  We  are  to 
"  abide  in  the  calling  "  (i  Cor.  vii.  20).  This  will 
include  abiding  in  Christ's  word  (John  viii.  31); 
abiding  in  His  love  (John  xv.  9),  abiding  in  Christ 
Himself  (John  xv.  4-7),  abiding  with  God  (i  Cor. 
vii.  24).  It  means  that  we  simply  continue  as  wc 
have  begun,  never  drawing  back,  never  retreating, 


150  PROVISION 

but  letting  God's  fact  of  consecration  become  a  con- 
stant factor  by  means  of  a  life  of  dedication.  His 
"  Thou  art  mine  "  is  to  be  met  by  "  I  am  Thine  "  ; 
"  Thou  art  my  God  "  is  to  be  followed  by  "  I  am 
Thy  servant  "  (Ps.  cxliii.  lo  and  12).  Then  we  shall 
learn  the  secret  and  enjoy  the  blessedness  of  the  only 
true  Christian  life.  If  we  thus  "  admit "  Christ  as 
Lord,  "submit"  to  Him  in  everything,  "commit" 
everything  to  Him,  and  "  permit  "  Him  to  be  every- 
thing, and  to  do  all  His  will  in  us,  then  we  shall 
indeed  "  transmit "  His  life  and  grace  to  others,  and 
all  that  we  are  and  have  and  do  shall  be  to  the  glory 
and  praise  of  God. 


PART  III 
Protection 


"Sin  shall  not  have  dominion  over  you." — Rom. 
vi.  14. 

'*  Rich  unto  all  that  call  upon  Him." — Rom.  x.  12. 

"  So  that  ye  come  behind  in  no  gift." — i  Cor.  i.  y. 

"  Sincere  and  void  of  oiFencc  till  the  day  of  Christ." 
—Phil.  i.  10. 


IX 
MEDITATION 

THE  spiritual  life  which  becomes  ours,  and 
is  constantly  realized  by  means  of  Justifica- 
tion, Sanctification  and  Consecration,  must 
be  maintained  and  sustained  if  it  is  to  grow  and  in- 
crease in  vigour,  power,  and  blessing.  Spiritual  life 
in  the  true  sense  of  the  term  is  far  more  than  spiritual 
existence ;  it  implies  strength,  vigour,  progress,  joy, 
and  satisfaction.  •'  I  am  come  that  they  might  have 
life,  and  that  they  might  have  it  more  abundantly  " 
(John  X.  lo).  This  abundant  life  is  the  only  life  that 
will  really  influence  others  and  fully  reahze  the  will 
of  God. 

For  the  maintenance  of  spiritual  life  certain  condi- 
tions  are  necessary.  As  with  physical  life,  so  with 
spiritual  life,  we  have  to  use  means  and  fulfill  re- 
quirements, and  this,  not  intermittently,  but  as  the 
habit  of  our  life.  It  is  with  the  chief  means  or  methods 
that  we  shall  be  concerned  in  this  and  the  remaining 
chapters.  Taking  an  illustration  from  the  body,  let 
us  bear  in  mind  that  for  the  maintenance  and 
furtherance  of  spiritual   life  we  require  good  food, 

1§3 


154  PROTECTION 

pure  air,  and  regular  exercise.  To  the  first  of 
these  we  now  turn  our  attention,  when  we  speak 
of  meditation.  The  "  good  food "  is,  of  course, 
the  food  of  the  Word  of  God,  for  as  food  builds 
up  the  tissues  of  the  body,  repairs  waste,  and 
preserves  us  in  health,  so  the  Word  of  God  is  the 
complete  food  of  the  soul.  It  is  noteworthy  that  we 
have  it  brought  before  us  in  the  Bible  as  milk  for 
babes  (i  Pet.  ii.  2 ;  i  Cor.  iii.  2),  as  strong  meat  for 
adults  (Heb.  v.  14),  affording  us  the  necessary  con- 
stituents of  spiritual  nutrition,  and  as  honey  (Ps. 
xix.  10)  suggesting  the  pleasure  and  enjoyment  of 
dessert  in  addition  to  the  food  actually  necessary  for 
life  and  work  (Jer.  xv.  16). 

Coming  now  more  closely  to  the  details  of  this 
important  element  of  spiritual  life,  we  notice : 

I.  The  Subjects  of  Meditation 
One  of  these  is  the  Word  of  God,  that  revelation 
of  God's  will  which  is  enshrined  in  the  Old  and  New 
Testament  Scriptures.  The  counsel  to  Joshua  em- 
phasized this  (Josh,  i.  8),  and  the  description  of  the 
truly  blessed  man  makes  meditation  a  prominent 
feature  (Ps.  i.  2  and  3).  The  great  Bible  psalm  (cxix.) 
has  at  least  seven  references  to  meditation,  while  the 
value  and  necessity  of  the  Word  of  God  to  the  godly 
life  is  the  outstanding  feature  of  the  whole  psalm. 


MEDITATION  155 

Let  it  be  clearly  and  constantly  borne  in  mind  that 
no  true  Christian  living  is  possible  apart  from  medi- 
tation on  the  Word  of  God. 

Meditation  is  also  to  be  exercised  on  the  Works  of 
God.  The  Psalmist  realized  the  value  of  this  form 
of  meditation  (Ps.  Ixvii.  I2  and  cxliii.  5).  The  works 
of  God  in  Creation,  the  actions  and  activities  of  God 
in  history  and  general  providence,  the  dealing  of 
God  in  our  own  experience  and  in  particular  provi- 
dences, are  all  fit  subjects  for  meditation,  and  should 
all  have  their  place  in  our  thought  and  life. 

But  above  and  beyond  all,  our  meditation  should 
be  centred  upon  God  Himself.  "  My  meditation  of 
Him"  (Ps.  civ.  34).  "I  will  meditate  on  Thee" 
(Ps.  Ixiii.  6).  Our  use  of  God's  Word  and  God's 
Works  is  only  intended  to  lead  us  up  to  the  consid- 
eration and  contemplation  of  God  Himself,  and  on 
Him  we  must  ever  fix  our  gaze.  God  first,  God 
everywhere,  is  the  secret  of  the  "  highest "  Christian 
life. 

It  is  important  to  notice  that  meditation  is  no- 
where associated  with  ourselves,  or  our  sin,  as  the 
subjects.  Such  an  attitude  of  introspection  would 
be  as  unhealthy  as  it  would  prove  discouraging  and 
disheartening.  To  be  occupied  with  ourselves  is 
dangerous ;  to  be  occupied  with  our  sin  is  depress- 
ing, for  we  cannot  fathom  either  the  treachery  and 


156  PROTECTION 

deceitfulness  of  our  hearts,  or  gauge  the  depths  of 
our  depravity.  But  if  our  hearts  are  led  out  from 
themselves  and  fastened  on  God,  then  "  in  His  light 
we  shall  see  light "  on  ourselves,  and  see  ourselves  as 
we  really  are,  while  the  same  gaze  will  also  lead  us  to 
the  secret  of  grace  and  blessing  in  God  Himself.  It 
is  sometimes  said,  «'  For  one  look  at  self,  take  ten 
looks  at  Christ."  But  why  not  take  eleven  looks  at 
Christ  and  none  at  self?  It  might  be  infinitely  more 
profitable. 

II.  The  Character  of  Meditation 
How  shall  we  meditate  ?  What  does  it  mean  ? 
It  must  be  an  individual  and  personal  meditation. 
Let  us  look  well  and  long  at  this  text,  made  as  clear 
as  the  printer's  art  can  emphasize  its  teaching :  "  My 
meditation  of  Him  "  (Ps.  civ.  34).  Do  we  see  the 
point?  "My"  meditation;  not  some  one  else's. 
The  great,  the  primary,  the  essential  point,  is  first- 
hand meditation  of  God's  Word  as  the  secret  of 
Christian  living.  Who  does  not  remember  Dr.  An- 
drew Murray's  definition  of  milk  as  "  food  that  has 
passed  through  the  digestion  of  another."  And  so 
all  the  little  books  of  devotion,  the  helps  to  holiness, 
the  series  of  manuals  of  thought  and  teaching,  in- 
cluding these  very  lines,  represent  food  that  has 
passed  through  the  spiritual  digestion  of  others  be- 


MEDITATION  157 

fore  it  comes  to  us,  and  has  to  be  used  as  such.  Do 
we  then  decry  all  these  ?  God  forbid  ;  we  establish 
them,  but  only  in  their  place  and  for  their  purpose. 
If  they  are  put  first,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  Bible 
alone,  and  the  Bible  day  by  day,  they  become  dan- 
gerous and  disastrous,  crutches  that  prevent  vigorous 
exercise,  and  that  will  inevitably  lead  to  spiritual 
senility.  If  they  are  put  second  they  can  become 
delightful  and  helpful,  inspirations  to  further  thought, 
and  suggestions  of  deeper  blessings.  When  we  have 
had  our  own  meditation  of  the  Word  we  are  the 
better  able  to  enjoy  what  God  teaches  us  through 
others  of  His  children,  and  especially  those  whom 
God  honours  with  special  gifts  of  teaching.  So  it 
must  be  first,  foremost,  and  constantly,  "  My  medi- 
tation of  Him." 

Meditation  must  be  real.  It  must  be  "  the  medi- 
tation of  my  heart  "  (Ps.  xlix.  3),  and  "  the  heart  "  in 
Scripture  means  the  centre  of  the  moral  being,  in- 
cluding the  intellect,  the  emotions,  and  the  will.  It 
implies  that  we  come  to  the  Word  to  be  searched 
thoroughly,  guided  definitely,  and  strengthened  ef- 
fectually. It  is  not  a  time  for  dreamy,  vague  imagin- 
ings, but  for  living,  actual  blessing,  whether  in  the 
form  of  guidance,  warning,  comfort,  or  counsel. 

Meditation  will  also  be  practical.  What  are  its 
stages  or  elements  ?     First,  the  careful  reading  of  the 


158  PROTECTION 

particular  passage  or  subject,  thinking  over  its  real 
and  original  meaning.  Next,  a  hearty  turning  of  it 
into  prayer  for  mercy  and  grace  that  its  teaching 
may  become  part  of  my  life.  Next,  a  sincere  trans- 
fusion of  it  into  a  resolution  that  my  life  shall  repro- 
duce it.  Lastly,  a  whole-hearted  surrender  to,  and 
trust  in  God  for  power  to  practice  it  forthwith,  and 
constantly,  throughout  the  day.  It  is  to  be  noted 
that  the  word  "  meditate,"  in  our  English  version, 
represents  two  Hebrew  words — one  meaning  to 
••  muse "  or  "  think,"  and  the  other  implying 
"  speech,"  or  audible  thinking  (see  Ps.  v.  i).  These 
two  elements  should  always  be  blended ;  thinking 
over  the  Word,  its  meaning,  its  application,  its  mes- 
sage, and  then  talking  to  God  about  it,  in  confession 
of  past  failures,  in  prayer  for  future  blessing,  in  fel- 
lowship in  present  joys  or  needs.  Thus  will  medita- 
tion become  so  practical,  so  vital,  so  blessed  that  we 
shall  find  in  it  our  chief  joy,  and  our  indispensable 
daily  power  for  service. 

III.     The  Outcome  of  Meditation 
We    have    necessarily   anticipated   this   in   some 

degree,  but  let  us  note  more  definitely  a  threefold 

result  of  meditation. 

The  first  is  Spiritual  Strength.     When  we  study 

carefully  the  description  of  the  blessed  man  in  Psalm 


MEDITATION  159 

i.,  we  sec  very  clearly  his  spiritual  strength  by  reason 
of  his  meditation.  He  is  as  the  tree  as  contrasted 
with  the  chaff— steadfast  and  dependable,  because 
rooted  in  the  strength  of  God.  Why  did  St.  John 
say  the  young  men  were  strong  ?  Because  the  Word 
of  God  was  abiding  in  them  (i  John  ii.  12-14). 
When  do  none  of  the  steps  of  the  righteous  slide  ? 
When  the  law  of  God  is  in  the  heart  (Ps.  xxxvii.  31). 
When  do  we  not  sin  against  God  ?  When  His 
Word  is  hidden  in  our  hearts  (Ps.  cxix.  Ii). 

Then  comes  Spiritual  Success.  Twice  at  least  is 
"  prosperity "  associated  with  meditation  of  God's 
Word  (Josh.  i.  8  and  9 ;  Ps.  i.  2  and  3).  And  even 
if  we  translate  "  do  wisely,"  instead  of  "  prosper,"  we 
get  the  same  idea,  for  it  is  abundantly  evident  from 
the  New  Testament  that  spiritual  wisdom  and  per- 
ception come  from  the  knowledge  of  God's  Word 
and  fellowship  with  Him  (Phil.  i.  9,  10 ;  Col.  i,  9). 
All  Christian  experience  testifies  to  blessing,  power, 
and  prosperity  in  spiritual  life  and  service  in  exact 
proportion  to  meditation  of  the  Word  of  God. 

Not  least  is  Spiritual  Satisfaction.  *•  My  medita- 
tion of  Him  shall  be  sweet."  Is  it  not  so  ?  "  How 
sweet  are  Thy  words  to  my  taste  "  (Ps.  cxix.  103). 

The  physical  enjoyment  of  food  and  dessert  is  but 
a  faint  illustration  of  the  joy  of  the  Word  in  the 
heart.     "  Thy  words  were  found,  and  I  did  eat  them  ; 


160  PEOTECTION 

they  were  to  me  the  joy  and  rejoicing  of  my  heart ' 
(Jer.  XV.  i6).  "  I  rejoice  at  Thy  Word  as  one  that 
findeth  great  spoil  "  (Ps.  cxix.  162).  If  we  look  at 
the  titles  of  the  Scriptures  given  in  Psalm  cxix.  such 
as  ordinances,  statutes,  judgments,  we  see  that  they 
are  words  which,  as  a  rule,  we  associate  with  what  is 
dry  and  dull  and  uninteresting !  Yet  these  very 
statutes  were  a  delight,  a  joy,  a  supreme  satisfaction 
to  the  Psalmist,  and  so  it  ever  is  if  our  hearts  are 
right  with  God.  ♦•  How  precious  are  Thy  thoughts 
unto  me,  O  God  "  (Ps.  cxxxix.  17). 

IV.  The  Times  of  Meditation 
There  is,  of  course,  a  sense  in  which  our  thoughts 
should  ever  be  turning  to  God  and  His  Truth.  "  All 
the  day  long  is  my  study  in  it  "  (Ps,  cxix.  97).  The 
attitude  of  our  souls,  if  in  a  healthy  state,  will  ever 
tend  to  the  recollection  of  God  whenever  the  oppor- 
tunity occurs. 

But  this  attitude  is  only  possible  by  means  of 
stated  times  for  meditation.  These  are  the  occasions 
for  providing  fuel  for  daily  use.  Now,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  early  morning  is  the  very  best  time 
for  this.  The  body  is  rested,  the  brain  is  free  and 
unencumbered,  and  hence  the  receptive  powers  are 
more  available.  It  may  not  be  possible  to  spend 
much  time ;  but  let  no  one  be  discouraged  because 


MEDITATION  161 

of  this,  for  quality  is  the  desideratum,  and  that  can 
be  put  into  even  five  minutes.  Let  the  attempt  be 
made  with  five  minutes  on  a  single  text,  or  phrase 
of  a  text,  and  the  exercise  will  soon  justify  itself,  and 
a  hunger  will  spring  up  for  five  minutes  more  !  And 
it  will  soon  be  found  how  marvellously  v^^e  are  able 
to  do  without  that  extra  five  minutes'  sleep !  Let 
but  the  time,  long  or  short,  be  well  spent,  and  the 
fruit  will  be  quick  to  appear  and  lasting  in  effect. 

Another  time  mentioned  in  the  Scripture  is  "  even- 
tide "  (Gen.  xxiv.  63),  that  time  of  twilight,  "  'twixt 
the  lights,"  which  often  brings  a  quiet  moment  or 
two  to  many  a  life.  When  the  toil  of  the  day  is  ap- 
proaching its  close,  or  is  over,  or  between  the  work 
of  the  afternoon  and  any  evening  duties,  there  often 
steals  over  the  soul  a  sense  of  God's  nearness  and  a 
peace  of  heart  that  tells  of  the  Spirit's  presence. 
Then  is  the  time  for  dropping  the  book  or  paper, 
and  for  allowing  the  soul  to  listen  to  God  and  to 
speak  to  Him.  If  our  circumstances  allow  it,  and, 
hke  Isaac,  we  can  go  "  into  the  field  "  for  our  medi- 
tation, there  will  be  an  added  delight,  as  in  the  quiet 
of  the  gathering  shadows,  broken  only  by  the  rus- 
tling of  trees,  or  the  evensong  of  the  birds,  we  stand 
face  to  face  with  God,  and  allow  His  Word  to  have 
"  free  course  "  in  us  and  "  be  glorified." 

Once    more,    night   is   often   an    opportunity   for 


162  PROTECTION 

meditation  (Ps.  Ixiii.  6),  and  if  so  it  be,  let  us  use  it 
well.  Before  retiring  to  rest,  let  the  heart  be  bathed 
in  the  water  of  the  Word  (Eph.  v.  26),  and  then  if 
"  in  the  night  we  sleepless  lie,"  the  Word  will  "  heav- 
enly thoughts  supply."  In  any  case,  however,  and 
whatever  our  circumstances,  we  must  find  time,  and 
make  time,  and  take  time  for  this  blessed  exercise 
of  meditation.  And  it  is  marvellous  how  easy  is 
that  apparently  impossible  task  of  making  time. 

It  is  hardly  possible  to  exaggerate  the  importance 
of  the  meditation  of  Scripture  for  the  maintenance 
and  progress  of  the  spiritual  life.  The  Bible  enters 
into  every  part  of  our  experience,  because  it  is  the 
revelation  of  God  on  which  our  life  is  necessarily 
based  and  to  which  it  should  make  a  constant  re- 
sponse. And  for  this  reason  no  life  can  be  either 
safe  or  strong  that  does  not  put  meditation  of  Scrip- 
ture in  the  forefront.  It  should  be  with  us  as  with 
the  Psalmist,  "  I  thought  on  my  ways  and  turned  my 
feet  unto  Thy  testimonies  "  (Ps.  cxix.  59),  and  with 
the  Prophet,  "  Thy  words  were  found  and  I  did  eat 
them :  and  Thy  word  was  unto  me  the  joy  and  re- 
joicing of  mine  heart ;  for  I  am  called  by  Thy  name, 
O  Lord  God  of  Hosts  "  (Jer.  xv.  16). 

Our  contact  with  the  Word  of  God  will  thus  be  an 
exact  test  of  our  discipleship  and  character.  The 
Bible  is  the  mirror  in  which  we  see  ourselves  as  wc 


MEDITATION  163 

are  and  as  God  sees  us,  and  it  must  be  evident  that 
if  we  never  use,  or  rarely  use,  the  mirror  we  cannot 
be  sure  of  our  real  state  before  God.  Christianity  is 
largely  a  matter  of  the  condition  of  soul,  stress  is  laid 
on  character,  and  character  is  power.  Now,  character 
needs  solitude  for  growth ;  solitude  is  "  the  mother- 
country  of  the  strong " ;  but  solitude  without  the 
Bible  tends  towards  morbidity,  while  with  the  Bible 
it  is  a  guarantee  of  vitality  and  vigour. 

Let  us,  then,  be  sure  that  amid  the  hurry,  flurry, 
scurry,  and  worry  of  life  we  "  take  time  to  be  holy  " 
by  means  of  meditation  on  God  in  His  Word.  Let  not 
even  Christian  work  rob  us  of  this  secret  of  true  service 
and  blessing.  Let  the  superficiality  of  many  lives 
warn  us  "  to  give  attention  to  reading,"  to  meditate 
on  these  things,  "  that  our  profiting  may  appear  to 
all,"  and  also  glorify  God.  Like  the  Psalmist,  let  us 
be  able  to  remember  past  seasons  of  blessed  medita- 
tion (Ps.  cxix.  23),  to  realize  present  seasons  of 
equally  blessed  privilege  CPs.  cxix.  97)  and  to  resolve 
that  the  future  shall  also  be  full  of  such  seasons  of 
life  and  health  and  joy  (Ps.  cxix.  15). 


X 

PRAYER 

IN  addition  to  good,  suitable  and  regular  food, 
the  body  requires  pure  atmosphere  in  order  to 
a  healthy  and  vigorous  life.  In  like  manner 
the  spiritual  life  must  have  both  the  food  of  God's 
Word  and  also  the  pure  atmosphere  of  prayer  if  it  is 
to  be  thoroughly  healthy,  strong  and  true.  We  are 
now  to  consider  some  of  the  aspects  of  prayer  as  the 
"  Christian's  vital  breath  "  and  "  native  air." 

The  illustration  of  breathing  may  help  to  intro- 
duce a  subject  that  fills  so  prominent  a  part  in  the 
revelation  of  God's  will.  Breathing  is  the  function 
of  a  natural,  healthy  life.  It  is  a  spontaneous,  un- 
conscious, incessant  act  and  habit,  and  marks  the 
person  as  in  normal  health  and  vigour.  So,  also, 
if  the  spiritual  life  be  healthy,  prayer  will  be  the  nat- 
ural, spontaneous,  and  unceasing  expression  of  it. 
This  is  what  the  Apostle  spoke  of  as  "  continuing 
instant  in  prayer." 

We  may  therefore  be  sure  that  the  emphasis  laid 
upon  continual  prayer  in  the  Word  of  God,  and  the 
prominence  given  to  it  in  the  lives  of  all  the  most 

164 


PRAyEE  165 

eminent  Christians  in  all  ages,  are  two  sure  tokens 
of  its  absolute  necessity  for  every  believer. 

I.     Continuance  in  Prayer — What  it  Means 

The  word  translated  "  continuing "  in  prayer 
(Rom.  xii.  12,  and  Col.  iv.  2)  is  used  in  several  con- 
nections, which  illustrate  its  meaning  in  prayer.  It 
is  used  of  the  little  boat  that  waited  on  our  Lord 
continually  (Mark  iii.  9) ;  of  the  Apostles  giving 
themselves  to  their  ministry  (Acts  vi.  4)  ;  of  the 
Disciples  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost  (Acts  ii.  42) ;  of 
Simon  Magus  remaining  with  Philip  (Acts  viii.  13). 
It  includes  the  ideas  of  "  clinging  closely  to  and  re- 
maining constant  in,"  and  impHes  continuous  devo- 
tion expressed  in  steadfastness  and  earnestness. 

It  means,  therefore,  very  much  more  than  fre- 
quently-recurring times  of  prayer.  This  is  to  water 
down  the  true  idea ;  for  the  thought  is  of  an  attitude 
rather  than  an  act,  even  though  it  be  frequently  per- 
formed. Prayer  is  something  vastly  beyond  the 
utterance  of  words  ;  it  is  the  relation  and  constant 
attitude  of  the  soul  to  God. 

This  attitude  towards  God  consists  of  several  ele- 
ments, chief  among  them  being  submission,  desire, 
trust,  fellowship.  There  is  first  and  foremost  the 
submission  of  the  soul  to  God,  the  attitude  of  sur- 
render  whereby  we   are   in  harmony  with  the  will 


166  PBOTECTION 

of  God.  Then  there  is  the  desire  of  the  soul  for 
God,  the  aspiration  and  longing  for  His  presence 
and  grace.  "  My  soul  longeth,  yea,  even  fainteth." 
"  My  heart  .  .  .  crieth  out  for  .  .  .  the 
hving  God."  Then  comes  the  confidence  of  the 
soul  in  God,  the  sense  of  dependence  on  Him,  and 
the  utter  distrust  of  self  and  our  own  will  and  way. 
Last  of  all  there  is  the  fellowship  of  the  soul  with 
God,  the  delight  in  His  presence  and  freedom  of 
communication  with  Him  at  all  times. 

This  is  something  of  the  meaning  of  continuance 
in  prayer,  and  it  can  be  easily  seen  that  this  may  be 
at  times  quite  independent  of  words.  It  is  the  soul's 
realization  of  God  and  its  deep,  quiet  joy  in  His 
presence  and  grace. 

n.  Continuance  in  Prayer — What  it  Does 
It  makes  God's  presence  very  real.  This  presence 
brings  peace,  which  calms  the  soul  in  the  presence 
of  dangers.  It  brings  joy,  which  cheers  the  soul  in 
the  pathway  of  difficulty  and  duty.  It  brings  glory, 
which  sheds  a  radiance  on  ordinary  life  and  illumi- 
nates the  commonest  tasks  with  the  light  of  heaven. 
It  makes  God's  power  very  manifest.  The  heart 
is  thereby  garrisoned  against  sin.  There  is  nothing 
like  continuance  in  prayer  to  keep  us  from  sin.  The 
soul  is  thereby  armed  against  temptation,  for  the  life 


PEAYER  167 

of  prayer  surrounds  us  with  Divine  power.  The 
life  is  thus  protected  against  leakage.  God's  power 
seals  up  the  crevices  and  preserves  the  spiritual  life 
intact. 

It  makes  God's  will  clear.  By  a  life  of  prayer  the 
perceptions  of  the  soul  are  clarified.  By  it  the  moral 
powers  of  the  soul  are  kept  balanced.  By  it  the 
determining  powers  are  strengthened  and  rendered 
vigorous,  and  decisions  are  more  easily  and  safely 
made.  Thereby  we  have  preservation  from  error  at 
any  critical  moment,  because  through  a  life  of  prayer 
we  learn  to  understand  the  providence  and  guidance 
of  God  much  more  clearly,  and  are  enabled  to  "  per- 
ceive and  know  what  things  we  ought  to  do,  and 
have  grace  and  power  faithfully  to  fulfill  the  same." 
There  is,  as  it  were,  an  accumulation  of  grace  and 
power  in  the  ordinary  life  which  makes  us  ready  for 
all  emergencies. 

It  makes  God's  service  easy.  Through  continuance 
in  prayer  we  are  "  strengthened  with  all  might  ac- 
cording to  His  glorious  power"  for  all  necessary 
service.  God's  calls  are  readily  met  because  we  are 
prepared,  "  ready  unto  every  good  work."  And  His 
service  is  seen  to  be  perfect  freedom,  "  whom  to 
serve  is  to  reign  "  ("  cui  servire  est  regnare  "),  and 
we  learn  to  realize  in  blessed  experience  that  His 
yoke  is  indeed  easy  and  His  burden  hght. 


168  PEOTECTION 

III.    Continuance  in  Prayer — What  it  Needs 

We  must  honour  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God.  The 
Spirit  of  God  is  the  source,  the  atmosphere,  the 
power  of  prayer.  He  is  the  *'  Spirit  of  Grace  and 
Supphcation."  Three  times  He  is  very  clearly  as- 
sociated with  prayer  (Rom.  viii.  26  and  27 ;  Eph.  vi. 
18;  Jude  20),  and  we  must  honour  Him  definitely 
and  constantly  if  we  would  know  the  secret  of  a  life 
of  prayer. 

We  must  meditate  on  the  Word  of  God.  The 
food  of  the  Scriptures,  God's  revelation  of  His  will, 
is  needed  to  sustain  prayer.  The  promises  are  to 
elicit  prayer.  The  Word  and  prayer  always  go 
together,  and  no  prayer  is  of  use  that  is  not  based  on, 
warranted  by,  and  saturated  with  the  Word  of  God. 

We  must  include  prayer  for  others.  True  prayer 
cannot  be  limited  to  our  own  needs.  As  the  soul 
learns  more  of  God's  will  and  purpose  it  enlarges 
itself,  and  goes  out  in  love  and  pity  for  all  the  souls 
for  whom  Christ  died.  Intercession  is  not  only  a 
definite  but  a  very  prominent  part  of  the  real  Chris- 
tian life  (I  Sam.  xii.  23).  Our  priesthood  means 
intercession.  Our  Lord's  work  has  intercession  for 
its  crowning  point  (Rom.  viii.  34;  Heb.  vii.  25). 
The  Holy  Ghost  intercedes.  We,  too,  must  pray  for 
others,  and  in  so  praying  our  own  life  of  prayer  will 
be  fully  realized. 


PEAYER  169 

We  must  have  special  occasions  for  prayer.  The 
hfe  is  fed  by  these.  The  attitude  is  based  upon  acts. 
The  Hfe  of  the  body  depends  on  separate  and  succes- 
sive acts,  whether  of  breathing  or  eating,  and  so  it  is 
with  the  soul.  These  times  of  prayer  are  the  storage, 
the  reservoir  of  daily  power  and  progress. 

The  best  times  for  this  are  undoubtedly  the  morn- 
ing and  evening,  and  of  these  the  morning  is  by  far 
the  most  important.  A  few  moments  at  midday  is 
also  of  immense  help.  But  whenever  it  be,  time  for 
it  we  must  have,  and,  if  necessary,  make. 

Let  us,  then,  begin  at  once,  starting  with  but  five 
minutes,  and  not  attempting  too  much  at  once.  The 
five  will  soon  grow  to  six,  seven,  eight,  ten,  and  even 
more.  The  habit  will  come  to  be  a  delight.  It  will 
prove  as  strange  and  impossible  to  omit  it  as  our 
regular  meals.  God's  presence  will  be  more  and 
more  a  delight ;  God's  power  will  more  and  more  be 
felt;  God's  blessing  more  and  more  realized  in  all 
our  influence  and  service. 


XI 

FAITHFULNESS 

FIVE  times  in  the  New  Testament  Christians 
are  compared  to  "  babes  "  (i  Cor.  iii.,  i  Cor. 
xiv.,  Eph.  iv.,  Heb.  v.,  and  i  Pet.  ii.),  a  term 
which  normally  indicates  the  commencement  and 
early  stages  of  the  Christian  life.  But  there  is  this 
great  difference  between  them.  The  first,  third  and 
fifth  refer  to  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  life,  to 
the  need  of  growth,  and  of  not  remaining  children. 
But  the  second  and  fourth  partake  of  the  nature  of 
warnings,  though  there  is  a  significant  difference 
between  the  point  of  the  warning  in  each  case.  In 
I  Corinthians  xiv.  an  appeal  is  made  to  the  Corinthian 
Churches  not  to  "  become  "  children  in  their  mental 
life,  though  they  are  to  continue  babes,  innocent, 
childlike,  in  regard  to  evil.  In  Hebrews  v.  they  are 
warned  on  the  ground  that  they  had  once  made  prog- 
ress but  had  reverted  to  spiritual  babyhood  ("  be- 
come," verse  12).  This  is  worse  than  childhood,  it 
is  second  childhood  ;  it  is  not  immaturity  but  dotage, 
not  juvenility  but  senility.  And  it  is  to  warn  and 
safeguard   them  that  he   now  writes  in  such  plain 

170 


FAITHFULNESS  171 

terms.  He  says  he  cannot  teach  them  high,  deep, 
full,  rich  truths,  such  as  that  of  the  Priesthood  of 
Christ  (verse  ii)  because  of  this  state  of  spiritual 
dotage. 

There  are  thus  four  classes  of  Christians  :  "  babes  " ; 
growing  Christians ;  mature  or  full-grown  Christians  ; 
and  invalids.  If  we  study  I  John  ii.  12-14  we  shall 
see  the  first  three  classes  described,  and  if  we  wish  to 
avoid  becoming  Christians  of  the  fourth  class  we 
shall  do  well  to  ponder  the  passage  in  Hebrews  v., 
and  apply  its  truths  rigidly  to  our  own  hves  as  we 
consider  the  solemn  truth  of  Spiritual  Degeneration. 

I.  Spiritual  Degeneration  is  Possible 
God's  will  for  us  is  progress.  "  Grow  in  grace " 
(2  Pet.  iii.),  "  Let  us  be  borne  on  to  maturity " 
(Greek  of  Heb.  vi.  i).  Progress  is  always  in  re- 
lation to  the  will  of  God.  That  will  is  to  be 
increasingly  known,  accepted,  obeyed,  loved  and 
enjoyed.  The  Old  and  New  Testaments  teem  with 
commands,  encouragements,  entreaties,  warnings  on 
this  subject.  Conversion  is  but  the  start;  what  is 
also  needed  is  continuance.  "  Daniel  continued " 
(chap.  i.).  "  Daniel  prospered"  (chap.  vi.).  "Where- 
fore ...  I  continue  "  (Acts  xxvi.).  "  If  ye  con- 
tinue "  (John  viii.).  "  Continue  in  the  faith  "  (Col.  i.). 
"  Patient  continuance"  (Rom.  ii.). 


172  PROTECTION 

The  body  makes  progress  almost  spontaneously,  as 
it  were,  though  even  this  is  according  to  law.  The 
progress  of  mind  and  soul,  however,  is  not  so  ap- 
parently spontaneous,  but  is  dependent  on  the  will, 
and  upon  the  constant  and  strenuous  observance  of 
definite  laws  of  training.  Yet  it  must  be  borne  in 
mind  that  spiritual  progress  does  not  mean  pri- 
marily intellectual  power  of  achievement,  but  in- 
creased spiritual  capacity  and  deeper  experience,  a 
tenderer  conscience,  a  more  fully  surrendered  will. 
In  reference  to  these  elements  God's  message  is, "  Go 
forward." 

God's  will  for  us  is  often  not  fulfilled.  The  growth 
is  stunted,  the  capacity  contracted,  the  life  hindered 
through  lack  of  progress.  The  main  characteristic 
of  this  is  an  inability  to  discern  between  good  and 
evil,  between  good  and  better,  between  good  and 
best  (Phil.  i.  9-10).  The  Hebrew  Christians  are  de- 
scribed as  "  heavy  of  hearing  "  (v.  1 1),  and  "  unskill- 
ful "  (v.  1 3).  This  does  not  mean  that  the  soul  ever 
becomes  unregenerate  again,  but  it  certainly  means 
that  it  becomes  t/rgenerate. 

What  are  the  causes  of  this  backsliding  and  de- 
generation? Sometimes  it  is  due  to  worldliness 
which,  like  a  bad  atmosphere,  penetrates,  lowers  the 
temperature  and  chokes  the  vitality.  There  are  not 
a  few  sad  instances  of  this  spirit  influencing  earnest 


FAITHFULNESS  173 

Christians.  "  Yc  did  run  well,  what  doth  hinder 
you  ?  "  Sometimes  the  trouble  is  due  to  what  may 
be  called  •'  weariness,"  a  spiritual  and  moral  sluggish- 
ness which  does  not  wish  to  go  forward,  an  inertness 
which  tends  to  sap  the  vigour  and  spiritual  buoyancy. 
Sometimes,  however,  the  cause  is  wilfulness,  some 
secret  sin  which  leads  to  unfaithfulness  and  tends  to 
eat  away  the  spiritual  life.  As  a  rule  this  degenera- 
tion does  not  occur  all  at  once.  As  the  old  Latin 
proverb  says,  "  No  one  suddenly  becomes  base." 
Like  a  great  tree  which,  though  gradually  affected 
by  fungi,  may  topple  over  at  once  in  some  storm 
of  wind,  so  a  spiritual  life  may  be  infected  by  error 
and  evil  silently  and  secretly  for  a  long  time,  and 
then,  in  a  moment  of  special  test  and  strong  tempta- 
tion, a  catastrophe  occurs.  Let  us,  then,  write  it  on 
heart  and  mind  and  conscience  that  spiritual  degen- 
eration is  possible. 

IL  Spiritual  Degeneration  is  Sinful 
God  gives  us  full  opportunity  to  grow.  "  Because 
of  the  time  (Heb.  v.  12)  ye  ought  to  be"  very  dif- 
ferent. The  time  since  their  conversion  was  so  long 
that  they  ought  to  have  grown  wonderfully  since 
then.  To  use  Dr.  Andrew  Murray's  illustration,  a 
babe  of  three  months  is  a  beautiful  picture,  natural 
and  delightful,  but  a  babe  of  twenty  years  old  would 


174  PROTECTION 

be  a  monstrosity.  If  a  person  had  come  to  the  age 
of  manhood  and  still  possessed  only  the  body  and 
brain  of  a  babe,  how  terribly  sad  would  the  circum- 
stances be.  What,  then,  must  God  think  and  feel 
concerning  those  who  have  been  "  in  Christ,"  born 
again  for  years,  and  are  in  spiritual  experience  only 
babes  ?  May  we  not  term  them,  without  exaggera- 
tion, spiritual  monstrosities  ? 

The  neglect  of  our  opportunity  for  growth  is  sin. 
We  cannot  command  growth,  but  we  can  hinder  it, 
and  it  is  this  that  constitutes  our  sin.  There  are 
Christians  who  are  always  talking  of  their  preference 
for  the  "  simple  gospel,"  and  they  believe  they  are 
showing  their  faithfulness  and  humihty,  when  all 
unconsciously,  but  very  really,  they  are  testifying  to 
their  own  unfaithfulness  and  laziness.  Those  who 
speak  of  wishing  for  nothing  save  "  Christ,  and  Him 
crucified,"  must  not  forget  that  in  that  very  chapter 
(i  Cor.  ii.)  St.  Paul  goes  on  to  say,  "  But  we  speak 
wisdom  among  the  mature  "  Christians.  The  fact  is 
that  "  Christ  crucified  "  covers  the  whole  Christian 
life  from  grace  to  glory,  and  is  concerned  not  only 
with  the  simplest  but  also  with  the  deepest  truths. 
It  is  a  mark  of  immaturity  to  be  content  with  that 
which  is  perfectly  obvious  without  thought  and 
trouble,  and  immaturity  is  sin  if  we  are  neglecting 
opportunities  of  ripeness  and  power.    The  call  is  clear 


FAITHFULNESS  175 

not  to  continue  to  lay  spiritual  foundations,  that  is, 
to  be  content  with  elementary  truths  (Heb.  vi.  l). 

III.  Spiritual  Degeneration  is  Harmful 
It  is  harmful  to  ourselves.  We  become  dull,  or 
heavy,  or  sluggish  of  hearing  (v.  1 1).  We  have  no 
spiritual  digestion,  but  must  perforce  be  content 
with  the  plainest  fare  (v.  1 2).  And  with  dull  per- 
ceptions and  weak  powers  of  assimilation  we  are  a 
prey  to  the  microbes  of  temptation  which  are  pow- 
erless against  the  vigour  of  health.  We  are  liable  to 
contract  the  malaria  of  worldliness,  and  all  other 
dangers  attendant  on  a  low  state  of  health.  In  the 
East  a  gentleman  once  wished  to  test  the  truth  of  the 
statement  that  the  sheep  will  not  follow  a  stranger, 
and  the  shepherd  told  him  that  only  the  sick  sheep 
would  respond  to  his  call.  And  so  he  found  it. 
What  a  lesson  is  this  !  Who  are  the  people  that  go 
here  and  there,  accept  this  or  that  newest  fad  in 
teaching,  go  astray  into  error  and  sin  ?  The  sick 
sheep.  Those  who  do  not  know  how  to  discern  be- 
tween good  and  evil,  and  are  a  prey  to  every  deceiver. 
It  is  harmful  to  others.  "  Because  of  the  time  " 
since  conversion  such  "  babes  "  "  ought  to  be  teach- 
ers," but  instead  of  this  they  need  still  to  be  taught 
their  spiritual  alphabet.  They  ought  to  be  feeding 
others,  instead  of  being  themselves  fed.     Churches 


176  PEOTECTION 

remain  nuiseries  when  they  ought  to  be  training- 
grounds.  What  a  loss  to  others  this  means  !  The 
silent  Christians  are  "  dumb  dogs,"  leaving  all  teach- 
ing to  a  few,  with  the  result  that  only  a  little  work  is 
done,  and  the  neighbourhoods  of  their  churches  are 
not  evangelized.  "  Ye  ought  to  be  teachers."  They 
ought  to  have  the  knowledge  to  enable  them,  the 
interest  to  incite  them,  and  the  loyalty  to  compel 
them  to  be  helpers  of  others.  Oh  !  the  unutterable 
sadness  of  the  little  work  done  when  so  much  more 
could  be  done  with  the  actually  existing  number  of 
Christian  people. 

IV.  Spiritual  Degeneration  is  Remediable 
How  ?  We  must  start  from  the  foundations,  but 
not  stay  there.  Axioms  in  mathematics  are  neces- 
sary foundations,  but  no  one  dreams  of  simply  going 
on  learning  them.  They  are  to  be  used.  We  com- 
mence all  education  by  learning  the  alphabet,  but  we 
do  not  limit  ourselves  to  this  process  ;  we  use  the 
letters  !  The  old  masters  had  only  the  primary 
colours  of  red,  blue  and  yellow,  but  how  marvellous 
were  the  combinations  "  by  reason  of  use."  So 
must  it  be  in  the  Christian  life.  In  one  sense  we 
must  '•  leave  "  the  rudiments  and  "  go  on  "  to  ripe- 
ness (vi.  I).  It  is  "  by  reason  of  use  "  (v.  14)  that  we 
grow  and  make  progress.     Just  as  in  learning  a  for- 


FAITHFULNESS  177 

cign  tongue  we  must  have  daily  practice,  setting  the 
same  brain  cells  in  vibration  every  day,  just  as  a 
pianist  needs  constant  practice  if  the  joints  are  to  be 
kept  flexible  and  supple,  and  the  execution  become 
more  proficient,  so  the  believer  needs  "  use,"  exer- 
cise, training,  if  he  is  to  "  go  on  to  perfection." 
What  is  this  "  use  "  ? 

There  must  be  the  atmosphere  of  prayer.  There 
must  be  the  daily  exercise  of  prayer  and  intercession. 
Daily  appearing  before  God  and  realizing  the  spir- 
itual perception,  spiritual  enlargement,  and  spiritual 
power  that  come  from  waiting  on  God. 

There  must  be  the  use  of  good  food,  the  daily  ex- 
ercise of  study  and  meditation,  daily  feeding  on  the 
Word  of  God,  and  this  never  allowed  to  be  inter- 
mitted. 

There  must  be  activity,  the  daily  action  of  trust, 
love,  obedience,  and  hope.  Trust  in  the  Real  Pres- 
ence of  our  God  and  Father.  Love  to  Christ  and  to 
man  in  Him.  Obedience  to  every  known  command 
of  God's  Word.  Hope  in  Him  whose  coming  is  our 
"  Blessed  Hope."  And  this  daily,  hourly,  momen- 
tarily, until  it  becomes  the  very  fibre  of  our  being. 

This  is  the  exercise,  or  "  use  "  of  our  spiritual  fac- 
ulties, and  the  result  will  be  that  we  shall  never  de- 
generate but  go  forward  from  strength  to  strength. 
Thus,  living  in  the  atmosphere  of  prayer,  feeding  on 


178  PROTECTION 

the  food  of  the  Word,  and  exercising  ourselves  in 
practical  living  in  and  for  God,  we  shall  know  what 
the  true  Christian  life  really  is  in  its  continual  growth, 
its  exultant  joy,  its  spiritual  power,  its  blessed  useful- 
ness, its  deepening  peace,  its  widening  influence,  and 
its  unceasing  witness  to  the  grace  and  glory  of  God. 


XII 

OBEDIENCE 

NO  one  who  has  once  understood  what  the 
Christian  Hfe  means  can  ever  be  the  same 
again.  Either  he  will  be  the  better  for 
his  knowledge,  or  else  he  will  be  worse.  His  life 
cannot  possibly  be  lived  on  the  same  original  plane 
of  spiritual  experience.  If,  by  means  of  this  knowl- 
edge, we  obtain  ideals,  and  do  not  at  once  set  to 
work  to  realize  them,  both  the  ideal  and  the  real  will 
be  lowered  from  this  time  forward.  Hence  the  im- 
portance, the  necessity,  of  taking  heed  to  such  a 
message  as  that  which  was  given  by  our  Lord  to 
His  disciples  :  "  If  ye  know  these  things,  happy  are 
ye  if  ye  do  them  "  (John  xiii.  17). 

I.  The  Christian  life  starts  with  Knowledge. 
"  If  ye  know  these  things."  It  is  absolutely  essen- 
tial that  we  should  "  know  "  these  things.  A  knowl- 
edge of  Christian  truth  is  of  paramount  importance, 
of  primary  necessity.  It  does  matter  what  we  be- 
lieve. Knowledge  is  ever  one  of  the  springs  and 
sources  of  action.  "  Conduct,"  as  Matthew  Arnold 
says,  may  be  "  three-fourths  of  life,"  but  the  other 

179 


180  PROTECTION 

fourth  is  the  motive-power  of  the  three.  A  train  is 
much  longer  than  the  engine,  but  the  engine  pro- 
vides the  motive-power.  A  building  is  much  larger 
than  the  foundation,  but  the  foundation  is  very  nec- 
essary. A  tree  is  much  wider  than  the  root,  but  it 
is  the  root  which  gives  life  to  the  tree.  Knowledge 
is  absolutely  necessary. 

It  is  necessary  in  the  Christian  hfe  for  protection. 
If  we  knew  more,  we  should  be  preserved  from  error 
on  this  or  that  side.  In  the  later  Epistles  of  St. 
Paul,  in  which  we  have  the  mature  spiritual  experi- 
ence of  the  Apostle,  we  find  a  strong  emphasis  upon 
♦'  knowledge,"  and  in  almost  every  case  the  word  so 
rendered  means  mature,  ripe  knowledge.  These 
Epistles  are  full  of  the  thought  of  knowledge  as  the 
mark  of  a  growing  Christian,  a  ripening  spiritual 
perception,  a  deepening  knowledge  of  God's  truth. 
And  in  the  still  later  Epistles,  the  Pastorals,  we  have 
the  phrase  again  and  again,  "  sound  doctrine,"  not 
so  much  in  the  sense  of  intellectual  clearness,  as  of 
healthful  doctrine,  that  which  ministers  to  spiritual 
health.  In  the  last  Epistle  of  St.  Peter  (which  con- 
sists of  only  three  chapters)  we  have,  again,  this 
thought  of  mature  knowledge.  In  almost  every  case 
in  which  the  word  occurs  in  those  chapters  it  is  a 
rendering  of  the  word  "  epignosis,"  and  at  last  the 
Epistle  closes  with  "  Grow  in  grace,  and  in  the  knowl- 


OBEDIENCE  181 

edge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour."  Then,  again,  in  that 
Epistle  of  St.  John  which  we  call  the  First  Epistle, 
the  key-note  is  "  that  ye  may  know."  Knowledge 
will  keep  us  from  error  of  all  kinds.  A  clear  con- 
ception and  perception  of  Christian  truth  will  be  our 
greatest  protection.  It  is  worth  while  to  notice  the 
three  stages  of  the  Christian  life  mentioned  in  the 
Epistle  of  St.  John  (ii.  12-14).  The  little  children 
are  those  who  have  ;  the  young  men  are  those  who 
are,  and  the  fathers  are  those  who  hicnv. 

Not  only  for  protection,  but  also  for  peace,  knowl- 
edge is  necessary.  "  I  know  whom  I  have  believed, 
and  am  persuaded  that  He  is  able  to  keep  that  which 
I  have  committed  to  Him  against  that  day."  That 
is  the  expression  of  the  experience  of  a  man  who 
knows :  "  If  ye  know  these  things."  As  we  look 
back  over  our  past  life,  we  may  think  of  the  things 
that  we  have  read,  understood  and  learnt.  Every 
one  of  us  has  something  to  be  included  in  this 
phrase,  "  If  ye  know  these  things."  But  it  so  hap- 
pens that  there  are,  at  least,  five  "  things  "  in  the 
immediate  context  which  are  essential  elements  in 
our  knowledge.  The  first  is,  "  He  that  has  been 
bathed,"  he  that  has  received  the  bath  of  a  perfect 
justification.  This  is,  as  we  have  seen,  at  the  root 
and  foundation  of  all  Christian  living.  We  must 
have  "  the  Lord  our  righteousness  "  for  justification. 


182  PEOTECTION 

Secondly,  a  perpetual  cleansing.  "  If  I  wash  thee 
not."  •'  Ye  are  clean,  but  not  all."  This  is  one 
of  the  "  these  things  "  enforced  in  Scripture, — per- 
petual cleansing  in  and  through  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  Then,  loyal  submission.  "  Ye  call  Me 
Teacher  and  Lord,  and  ye  say  well,  for  so  I  am.  If 
I  then,  your  Lord  and  Teacher."  Notice  those  two 
titles,  Teacher  and  Lord.  In  the  order  of  our  expe- 
rience it  is  "  Teacher  and  Lord  " ;  but  in  the  order 
of  His  purpose  it  is  what  He  Himself  claims — 
'•  Lord  and  Teacher."  We  have  been  learning  of 
Him  as  our  Teacher,  and  what  it  is  to  call  Him 
Lord.  "  To  this  end  Christ  both  died,  and  rose,  and 
revived,  that  He  might  be  Lord."  Next,  a  lowly 
spirit.  The  Lord  "  girded  Himself "  and  took  the 
place  of  a  servant,  though  filled  with  a  Divine  con- 
sciousness as  in  verse  three :  '•  Knowing  .  .  . 
that  He  was  come  from  God,  and  was  nevertheless 
going  to  God;  He  .  .  .  took  a  towel  and 
girded  Himself,"  In  the  very  height  of  His  Divine 
consciousness.  He  stooped  to  the  position  of  lowli- 
ness. And  whenever  we  have  been  on  the  moun- 
tain top  and  had  a  glimpse  of  Divine  things,  it  is 
that  we  should  have  the  same  spirit  of  lowliness. 
Fifthly,  social  service.  He  not  only  took  the  posi- 
tion, but  did  the  work  of  a  servant  in  washing  the 
disciples'  feet. 


OBEDIENCE  188 

"  If  ye  know  these  things."  Do  we  know  them  ? 
For  it  cannot  be  too  often  emphasized  that  knowl- 
edge in  the  New  Testament  is  not  merely  intellectual 
perception ;  it  is  spiritual  experience.  Do  we  know 
these  things  ?  Do  we  know  all  of  these  five  ?  Do 
we  know  what  it  is  to  have  Christ  for  our  perfect 
justification  ?  Do  we  know  what  it  is  to  have  Him 
as  our  continual  sanctification  ?  Do  we  know  what 
it  is  to  know  Him  as  our  Lord  and  Master  and 
Teacher  ?  Do  we  know  what  it  is  to  have  Him  as 
our  pattern  of  lowliness  and  service  ?  Do  we  know 
these  things  ?  "  Christ  for  us  our  atoning  sacrifice, 
Christ  in  us  our  living  power,  Christ  under  us  our 
sure  foundation,  Christ  around  us  our  wall  of  fire, 
Christ  beside  us  our  perfect  pattern,  Christ  over  us  our 
blessed  Master,  Christ  before  us  our  everlasting  heri- 
tage."    "  If  ye  know  these  things." 

II.  The  Christian  life  proceeds  to  Action.  "  If 
ye  know  these  things,  ...  do  them."  Chris- 
tianity is  not  a  creed  alone ;  it  is  a  life.  If  knowl- 
edge is  the  spring  of  action,  action  is  the  end  of 
knowledge.  There  are  two  words  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment which  practically  sum  up  all  that  is  contained 
in  the  phrase  "  do  them,"  "  walk "  and  "  work." 
These  may  be  stated  as  character  and  conduct ;  holi- 
ness and  service.  The  "  walk "  comes  first.  We 
recall  the  frequency  with  which  the  word  "  walk  "  ie 


184  PROTECTION 

used  to  express  the  activity  and  progress  of  the 
Christian  Hfe.  Sometimes  we  find  it  in  connection 
with  sincerity;  we  are  to  walk  before  God  (Gen. 
xvii.  i).  Sometimes  in  connection  with  obedience ; 
we  are  to  walk  after  Him  (Deut.  xiii.  4).  Sometimes 
in  connection  with  union ;  we  are  to  walk  in  Him 
(Col.  ii.  10).  Sometimes  in  connection  with  fellow- 
ship ;  we  are  to  walk  with  Him  (Mai.  ii.  6).  Perhaps 
this  metaphor  is  used  because  walking  is  one  of  the 
three  perfect  forms  of  exercise,  in  which  every  faculty 
and  power  of  our  physical  being  are  brought  into 
play.  There  are  forms  of  exercise  quite  as  enjoy- 
able, which  do  not  do  this,  but  walking,  running  and 
swimming  do.  The  "  walk  "  of  the  Christian  life  is 
intended  to  bring  out  every  faculty  of  our  spiritual 
being. 

By  "  doing  these  things  "  we  start  with  the  act, 
and  then  go  on  to  habit  and  character.  Many  of  us 
recall  the  teaching  of  Butler  about  passive  impres- 
sions and  active  habits.  We  continually  receive 
impressions,  but  if  these  passive  impressions  are  not 
at  once  transformed  into  acts  of  the  will,  in  order 
that  they  may  become  habits,  then  the  impressions 
will  have  been  in  vain.  If  we  are  not  already  put- 
ting into  practice  in  our  wills,  in  our  inmost  being, 
what  we  know,  we  are  already  losing  it.  And  it  is 
just  here  that  many  of  us  fail  in  the  Christian  life, 


OBEDIENCE  185 

and  fail  again  and  again.  Is  it  not  simply  terrible 
to  think  of  failure  when  we  might  be  going  forward  ? 
Why  is  it  terrible  ?  Because  if  only  we  would  at 
once  translate,  by  means  of  the  will,  the  impression 
which  we  receive,  we  should  get  an  influx  of  power, 
and  from  the  act  would  come  a  habit,  and  instead  of 
our  life  being  a  series  of  intermittent  acts,  the  acts 
would  be  joined  to  one  another,  and  this  would  not 
mean  merely  a  chain  but  an  ever-stronger  chain,  one 
perfect  line,  forming  at  last  the  habit  of  our  life. 
Then  prayer  would  become  easy,  meditation  on  the 
Bible  easy,  making  time  for  prayer  and  the  Bible 
easy,  surrender  easy,  obedience  easy,  because  of  the 
habit,  the  walk  of  Hfe.  There  is  something  instinc- 
tive in  the  movement  of  the  arm,  or  even  of  the  body, 
in  walking ;  and  what  that  is  in  things  physical,  our 
spiritual  life  is  intended  to  be,  that  we  may  be  "stab- 
lished,  strengthened,  settled." 

And  then  will  come  work.  Not  merely  character, 
but  conduct;  not  only  holiness,  but  service.  Our 
Lord  did  something ;  He  washed  His  disciples'  feet, 
He  served  them  in  that  moment  of  exalted  conscious- 
ness. And  if  we  do  not  entertain  the  determination 
to  work  our  profession  will  be  in  vain.  We  have 
spiritual  and  social  work  to  do.  Wherever  our  life 
is  treated  in  the  New  Testament  we  always  find  three 
aspects :  eternal,  internal,  external, — our  relation  to 


186  PEOTECTION 

God,  our  relation  to  ourselves,  and  our  relation  to 
others.  The  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  ninefold, — three 
with  regard  to  God,  three  with  regard  to  our  fellows, 
and  three  with  regard  to  ourselves  (Gal.  v.).  The 
threefold  aspect  of  St.  John's  First  Epistle  is  clear 
and  includes  obedience  to  God,  love  to  the  brethren, 
and  the  possession  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  heart. 
When  Paul  preached  to  Festus,  he  preached  right- 
eousness, self-control,  and  judgment  to  come — our 
threefold  relationship.  And  so  when  we  have  been 
deaUng  with  God  it  is  in  order  that  there  may  go 
forth  from  us  to  others  the  influence  and  power  of 
a  holy  life  and  holy  character  in  blessed  and  loving 
service. 

There  is,  first  of  all,  the  home  circle,  and  that  may 
be,  for  some  of  us,  the  most  difficult ;  but  it  must  be 
faced.  We  have  to  "  show  piety  at  home."  Let  us, 
however,  take  care  that  the  difficulties  are  not  of  our 
own  making.  Let  the  youngest  of  us  remember 
that  in  the  home  life  we  are  not  infallible,  even  after 
we  have  had  spiritual  enlightenment.  And  we  must 
see  that  those  who  are  older  than  ourselves  are  not 
able  to  say,  "  Well,  if  that  is  what  Christian  living 
means,  I  do  not  feel  drawn  to  it."  We  read  in  our 
Lord's  life  that  "  the  house  was  filled  with  the  odour 
of  the  ointment."  So  let  it  be  with  u*  in  things 
spiritual. 


OBEDIENCE  187 

Then  comes  our  church  hfe.  If  we  are  in  the 
ministry  we  shall  realize  what  the  work  of  the  min- 
istry means  in  the  light  of  the  New  Testament.  But 
whether  minister  or  layman,  our  work  will  mean 
devoted  service  for  God,  and  loving  and  loyal  service 
one  for  another,  washing  the  disciples'  feet.  This  is 
what  we  have  to  face.  Somewhat  quaintly,  but  very 
truly,  three  rules  have  been  given  for  washing  the 
disciples'  feet.  First,  "  the  water  must  not  be  too 
hot."  There  is  a  danger  of  censoriousness,  a  serious 
risk  of  censoriousness  in  relation  to  others,  and  if  we 
scold,  we  shall  scald,  and  that  will  be  fatal.  Sec- 
ondly, "  our  own  hands  must  be  clean  while  we  do 
it."  If  our  hands  are  not  clean  when  doing  this 
work  of  washing  the  feet  of  others,  this  work  of 
loving  service,  we  shall  not  do  our  duty  to  our 
Master.  Thirdly,  "  we  must  be  quite  willing  for 
others  to  wash  our  feet."  This  involves  a  good  deal 
of  humility.  When  these  things  are  true,  we  shall 
have  the  true  home  and  the  true  church  life. 

But  it  is  necessary  to  look  wider,  and  to  think  not 
merely  of  the  home  life  and  of  the  church  Hfe,  but 
also  of  the  national  life.  It  is  sometimes  said  that 
many  Christians  are  indifferent  to  the  thousand  and 
one  evils  of  the  present  day.  Nothing  could  be  more 
unfair  than  that  charge.  It  cannot  be  forgotten  that 
redemption  and  regeneration  are  never  applied  to 


1S8  PEOTECTION 

society  or  the  New  Testament,  but  only  to  the  indi- 
vidual in  regard  to  his  spiritual  needs,  and  the  Gospel 
is  primarily  salvation,  not  civilization.  But  with  this 
realized  and  kept  in  front,  the  Gospel  is  to  be  applied 
to  all  life.  It  is  our  bounden  duty  to  apply  the 
Gospel  to  all  the  social  ills  of  to-day.  We  face  these 
social  problems  and  bring  to  bear  upon  them  the 
teaching  of  the  New  Testament.  Nothing  in  this 
world  can  deal  so  quickly  or  so  effectively  with  our 
social  evils  as  the  old-fashioned  evangelical  verities 
of  the  New  Testament.  The  problem  of  the  unem- 
ployed can  only  be  solved  by  Christian  men  and 
women,  as  also  the  problem  of  poverty,  the  problem 
of  pauperization,  the  problem  of  the  drink  traffic,  the 
problem  of  gambling,  the  problem  of  impurity,  the 
problem  of  the  desecration  of  the  Lord's  Day,  and 
the  problem  of  war.  Not  least  of  all  is  the  problem 
of  the  use  of  money.  Systematic  and  proportionate 
giving  as  the  great  New  Testament  principle  ought 
to  be  applied  by  every  one  of  us  in  every  action  of 
our  life,  in  order  that  it  may  be  seen  that  we  are  not 
forgetful  of  the  social  claims  of  others.  And  let  us 
not  forget,  in  this  connection,  that  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  does  not  look  upon  what  we  give,  but  upon 
what  we  have  left  after  we  have  given.  Let  us  recall 
that  whilst  the  Lord  looked  upon  that  widow's  two 
mites  (not  one  mite)  He  looked  upon  it  because  she 


OBEDIENCE  189 

had  nothing  left  to  give.  When  social  problems  are 
thus  faced,  none  of  them  will  prove  insoluble. 

But  it  is  necessary  to  look  wider  still  and  think  of 
the  universal  life,  "  If  ye  know  these  things,  happy 
are  ye  if  ye  do  them."  There  is  an  application  to 
evangelization.  The  home,  the  church,  the  nation, 
the  world.  This  is  in  the  hne  of  God's  will,  and  the 
Christian  who  puts  world-wide  evangelization  in  the 
proper  place  in  his  life, — the  first  place,  God's  place, 
will  find  in  it  the  key  to  everything  in  the  home,  in 
the  parish,  in  the  nation.  "  If  ye  know  these  things, 
.     .     .     do  them." 

III.  The  Christian  life  culminates  in  Blessed- 
ness :  *'  If  ye  know  these  things,  blessed  are  ye  if  ye 
do  them."  We  shall  know  by  experience  the  bless- 
edness of  holiness.  This  will  involve  the  blessedness 
of  spiritual  peace,  the  blessedness  of  spiritual  power, 
the  blessedness  of  spiritual  provision,  the  blessedness 
of  spiritual  permanence,  the  blessedness  of  "  abid- 
ing," "  stablished,  strengthened,  settled."  The  joy 
of  the  Lord  will  be  deep  as  we  know  Him  as  our 
righteousness  for  justification,  our  righteousness  for 
sanctification,  our  righteousness  for  consecration. 

Then  there  will  be  the  blessedness  of  service !  Is 
there  any  blessedness  comparable  with  the  blessed- 
ness of  love  ?  A  man  once  went  to  his  minister  and 
asked  him  to  tell  him  something  about  heaven,  and 


190  PROTECTION 

the  minister  said,  "  Down  the  street  is  a  widow  with 
some  small  children.  Go  to  the  grocer, — do  not 
send  but  go ;  buy  what  you  can  from  that  grocer's 
shop;  then  go  to  the  baker,  then  to  the  green- 
grocer, and  then  take  the  things  yourself,  give  them 
to  this  widow  and  pray  with  her."  The  man  did  so, 
and  in  a  little  time  he  came  back  and  said,  "  Pastor, 
I  do  not  need  to  know  anything  now  about  heaven ; 
I've  been  there ! "  He  had  realized  something  of 
the  joy,  the  unspeakable  joy  of  love!  That  is 
heaven ;  for  "  God  is  love." 

And  not  least  will  come  the  blessedness  of  obedi- 
ence. It  will  be  the  blessedness  of  putting  into 
practice  what  we  know,  and  it  fills  the  soul  with  the 
peace  of  God  in  an  ever-increasing  degree. 

And  so  we  rejoice  in  the  blessedness  of  work. 

Work  will  no  longer  be  a  toil  and  a  moil,  but  a  joy ; 

no    longer   a  weariness,  but  a  delight.     There  is  a 

hymn  that  we  sometimes  sing, "  I've  found  a  Friend," 

and   it  seems  somewhat  selfish,  though  we  do  not 

mean  it  for  selfishness,  when  we  sing  those  words  in 

it: 

"  And  now  to  work,  to  watch,  to  war, 
And  then  to  rest  for  ever." 

Would  it  not  be  better  to  sing, 

**  And  now  to  work,  to  watch,  to  war. 
And  then  to  work  for  ever." 


OBEDIENCE  191 

It  is  of  course  true  that  "  they  rest  from  their 
labours,"  but  it  is  also  true  that  "  they  rest  not  day 
nor  night " ;  and  to  every  healthy,  vigorous  Chris- 
tian work  is  and  ever  will  be  the  joy  and  delight 
of  life. 

And  what  can  we  say  of  the  blessedness  of  influ- 
ence ?  This  is  the  blessedness  of  realizing,  in  how- 
ever small  a  degree,  and  to  however  little  an  extent, 
the  influence  that  is  holy  as  it  flows  out  from  us  to 
others.  Some  years  ago  a  lady  was  walking  home 
from  the  station  about  midnight  after  speaking  at 
a  large  meeting  in  London.  As  she  neared  her 
home  she  thought  she  saw  some  one  leaning  against 
the  wall,  near  the  gateway  of  her  house.  She  found 
that  it  was  a  young  girl,  and  very  soon  saw  that  the 
girl  was  ill.  She  took  her  in  that  night,  gave  her  a 
bed  and  everything  possible  for  her  comfort.  The 
next  morning  she  made  arrangements  for  the  girl  to 
be  taken  to  a  suitable  home  where  her  needs  would 
be  attended  to.  But  the  end  was  very  near.  They 
telegraphed  soon  afterwards  to  the  lady  to  come 
and  see  her.  When  she  leaned  over  the  bed  to  speak 
to  the  girl  and  spoke  to  her  about  better  things,  this 
is  what  the  girl  said :  "  I  have  not  found  it  hard  to 
think  about  God  since  I  saw  you  !  "  Is  there  any- 
thing in  this  world  higher  than  that — that  people 
should   not   think   it  hard  to  think  about  God  by 


192  PEOTECTION 

reason  of  our  life ?  "I  have  not  found  it  hard  to 
think  about  God  since  I  saw  you."  "  Blessed  are  ye 
if  ye  do  them." 

That  is  the  life  to  which  God  is  calling  us,  the  life 
in  the  home,  in  the  church,  in  the  nation,  in  the 
world.  "  Therefore,  my  beloved  brethren,  be  ye 
steadfast,  unmovable,  always  abounding  in  the  work 
of  the  Lord,  forasmuch  as  ye  know  that  your  labour 
is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord." 


PRINTED   IN   THE    UNITED  STATES   OF  AMERICA 


Princeton  Theological  Semina7  Libraries 


012  01251    1947 


Date  Due 

N  29  ^9 

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Ap     1    'r 

JY  i2  4a 

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